Table 2.

Summary of hydrogels compatible for high-throughput cell printing and encapsulation.

Hydrogel	Gelation Mechanism	Compatible Cell Lines	Advantages	Limitations
Alginate	Crosslinking via divalent ions	Human adipose derived stem cells [61], human brain cancer cells [9]	Good printability, applicable to stem cell growth [61], easy chemical modification [52]	Non-supportive to viral transduction [26]
Matrigel®	Temperature dependent	Human umbilical vein endothelial cells, colorectal cancer cells [63], rat cardiomyocytes [64]	Applicable to differentiation, xenografts, spheroidal cell growth, 3D co-cultures [63]	Clogging tips and solenoid valves due to temperature sensitive gelation
Fibrin	Thrombin catalyzed polymerization	Chondrocytes [57], rat myoblast [68]	Applicable to tissue engineering, vascular grafts, gene delivery [35,47]	Unstable due to degradation via MMPs [67]
Collagen (type 1)	Temperature induced	Endothelial progenitor cells, mesenchymal progenitor cells [69]	Applicable to tissue engineering [73]	Unstable due to degradation via collagenases, clogging tips and valves [83]
Hyaluronin	Thermal or photo dependent gelation [52]	Mesenchymal stem cell [35], endothelial cells [37]	Applicable to tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, stem cell differentiation, wound healing, angiogenesis [76]	Poor mechanical strength
PuraMatrix™	Self-assembling when exposed to salts	Primary rat hepatocytes, adult liver progenitor cells, chondrocytes [79]	Embryonic stem cell cultures [79]	Poor cyto-compatibility due to low pH
PEG	UV crosslinking, simple redox crosslinking	Human mesenchymal stem cells [54]	High mechanical strength	No cell-matrix interaction