FIG. 6.

Functional characterization of hemoglobin in cultured erythroid cells. (A) At day 17, cells grown in scaffolds for 24 h were red, indicative of sufficient hemoglobin accumulation. (B) The erythroid cells also expressed erythroid cell markers, GPA, β-globin, and γ-globin. (C) Oxygen equilibrium curves were measured by a Hemox analyzer. The oxygen-binding capacity of mature erythroid cells cultured in a scaffold showed similar oxygen-binding capacity compared with the fresh adult peripheral blood. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tea