FIG. 5.
Growth of fibroblasts in hydrogel modules with different Young's moduli and under different flow rate of the culture medium. (a) Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of HMs at Cagar (top to bottom) of 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 wt. %. Scale bar is 10 μm. The insets show the Young's modulus of HMs at room temperature. (b) Colony growth in HMs with varying Cagar, on day 3. The flow rate of the cell culture medium Qm = 0.05 ml·h−1. (c) Effect of the flow rate of the cell culture medium, Qm, on colony growth in HMs on day 3 (Cagar = 4 wt. %). In (b), G of the cells in agarose HMs at 3, 4, and 5 wt. % was determined for 20, 37, and 30 cells, respectively. In (c), G of the cells in agarose HMs at 4 wt. % at Qm of 0.05, 0.08, and 0.11 ml/h was determined for 86, 18, and 17 cells, respectively. The brackets above the data bars in (b) and (c) indicate the two data sets compared in Student's t-test. The single and double stars denote the p values: * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01. For all other pairs of data sets in (b) and (c), p > 0.05.