FIG. 1.

Characterization of RGD-alginate microgel and MSC culture on the microgel surface (A) A fluorescent image of the alginate microgel was superimposed on top of a bright-field image of the same alginate microgel (scale: 300 μm). The alginate microgels were stable in a cell culture media independent of the microgel diameter of 3 mm (■), 1.5 mm (●), and 500 μm (▲). (B) The average diameter of alginate microgels was measured using 50 samples per condition. (C) Schematic description of cells adhered to a microgel of RGD-alginate. (D, E) The cellular membrane (D) and intracellular actin (E) of MSCs adhered to alginate microgels (marked by a dashed circle) were stained with octadecyl rhodamine B chloride and Oregon green 514 phalloidin, respectively. The image was captured 24 h after seeding MSCs on the microgel beads (Scale bar: 200 μm). The white lines in (D) and (E) represent the outline of the alginate microgel. (F) The cells on the microgels subsequently reached confluency within 10 days (scale: 175 μm). RGD, Arg-Gly-Asp; MSC, mesenchymal stem cell. Color images available online at www.liebertonline.com/tea