Forming Spheroid Using Hydrogel Microwell and Pneumatic Soft Actuator

The spheroid formation is essential in current regenerative medicine and drug screening because it can reproduce the function of tissues in vivo, and various methods have been reported for its formation. However, a method to form spheroids in large quantities and at high speed has not been established in conventional methods. In this study, we propose a method to form spheroids massively and rapidly by combining a pneumatic soft actuator molded with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and agarose gel, then applying pressure to a cell mass. In this report, osteoblasts were cultured in the device with and without applying air pressure for 12 hours to form spheroids.