Microfluidic mass production system for hydrogel microtubes for microbial culture

In this study, we characterize the formation of hydrogel microtubes for microbial culture formed using a mass production system. We demonstrated microbial culture using hydrogel microtubes, which can protect the target microorganism inside from competitive microorganisms outside while they allow oxygen, nutrition, and byproducts to diffuse through. The hydrogel microtubes can be produced using a microfluidic device, but the scale-up of microtube production is crucial for practical applications. We propose and develop a fluidic system that can produce multiple microtubes in parallel. We experimentally characterized the microtube formation using the device and demonstrated microbial culture in the microtubes. Tube thickness was found to be a critical parameter for the culture.