Constructing thermoresponsive PNIPAM-based microcarriers for cell culture and enzyme-free cell harvesting

The development of large-scale cell cultivation and non-invasive cell harvesting is highly desired in various fields, including biological regeneration and pharmaceutical research. When using traditional microcarriers for cell culture, trypsinization is often necessary during cell collection, leading to partial cells damage. In this work, we developed a thermoresponsive glass microcarrier modified with poly(γ-propargyl-ʟ-glutamate) (PPLG) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM). We utilized these microcarriers for three-dimensional cell culture and enzyme-free cell harvesting, and the results indicated that the prepared microcarriers exhibited excellent non-invasive cell culture performance.