Assembly of 3D cell-laden constructs based on rail-guided dextrous stick coordination manipulation

A novel rail-guided dextrous stick coordination manipulation (DeSCom) system was proposed for the assembly of cell-laden three-dimensional (3D) constructs. The coordination control between three dextrous sticks was realized based on the vision feedback and the manipulation resolution was around 30 nm. It was set up with hybrid motors to ensure the large operation range and operation precision. The 2-dimensional (2D) unit for assembly was fabricated by the UV illumination of the cell-mixed hydrogen named Poly (ethylene glycol) Diacrylate (PEGDA). Through the cell-encapsulation with biocompatible hydrogel instead of direct contact, the cell viability during assembly was assured. The DeSCom system could realize the arbitrary 3D structure through regulating the total number of assembled 2D units with changeable profile determined by the UV mask shape. At last, the bottom-up fabrication of vascular-like microtube encapsulating cells was performed based on the utilization of micromanipulation strategies with vision feedback.