Shape-controlled production of alginate hydrogel-poly-L-lysine microcapsules based on electrodeposition method: Shape-controlled microcapsules

Abstract

In this study, we describe a novel method of fabricating shape-controlled calcium alginate gel microcapsules. Alginate-poly-L-lysine (PLL) hydrogel microcapsules with predefined shapes were constructed based on electrodeposition method. Firstly, electrolysis of water in alginate solutions with calcium carbonate particles induced alginate gelation on micro-patterned electrode to form 2D gel structures. Then, these structures will be detached from the electrode surface and treated with the alginate-PLL microcapsules system. By passive control based on the micro-pattern geometric confinement and electrodeposition parameters, we succeeded in producing calcium alginate-PLL microcapsules with diverse shapes (such as sphere rod and cubic). The shape and size of the calcium alginate microcapsules could be tuned by adjusting the geometric design of micro-pattern on electrode and the apply voltage of electrodepostion. The preparation conditions of size- and shape-controlled calcium alginate-PLL microcapsules and influence factors were studied. This proposed method can lead to more accurate and creative studies of fabricating biocompatibility scaffold for tissue engineering.