ABSTRACT
From a practical perspective, cell encapsulation strategies oer several additional advantages. For example, by suspending cells in a solution prior to solidication, cells can be uniformly distributed throughout the scaold (Bryant and Anseth 2001b). Since the process of encapsulating cells is inherently mild and cell-friendly, it oen can be employed as a means to deliver cells in vivo and minimally invasively whereby cells suspended in a liquid precursor solution are injected to the site of interest and cured in situ (Atala et al. 1993; Elissee et al. 1999a; Passaretti et al. 2001). By curing the scaold directly at the site of interest, the precursors are able to diuse into the neighboring tissue and upon gelation create a bond between the scaold and the tissue without the need for external xatives. With these many advantages, it is not surprising that cell encapsulation strategies have received signicant attention in recent years. However, developing scaolds for cell encapsulation comes with stringent requirements, thus limiting the range of suitable precursors and processes by which scaolds are formed.
