The hydrocup: a hollow electrospun scaffold for in vivo hydrogel-laden cell delivery
- 1Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University
Abstract
For regenerative medicine applications, transplanted cells are difficult to retain in a specific place to maximize the localized release of cytokines, which can positively modulate immune responses, angiogenesis and tissue regeneration. Here, we developed a hollow electrospun (ESP) scaffold with one open and one closed end to enclose a hydrogel laden with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs); we termed this combination the hydrocup. hMSCs remained viable for 28 days in vitro and released functional cytokines similar to hMSCs in transplanted but non-enclosed hydrogels. The hydrocups remained intact and fixed in place for 6 weeks after subcutaneous implantation in rats, demonstrating in vivo compatibility. These results demonstrate that the hydrocup is the first, to our knowledge, cell-laden hydrogel delivery scaffold. This innovation could be developed for a wide variety of cell-based cytokine secretion or drug-laden hydrogel applications.
Related
- The effect of an ultrasound-activated electrospun piezoelectric hydrogel scaffold on post-traumatic brain injury motor function in Drosophila melanogaster
- Hydrogel crosslinking mechanisms influence the release and functional delivery of lipid nanoparticles
- PEG as Transient Structuring Agent for Tuning Properties of Electrospun Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) Scaffolds
- Self-organized hummock-hollow patterns redistribute salinity stress in coastal meadows
- Flower‐Like Hollow Structure Cocatalyst of Amorphous CoZnPx With Strong Capacitance for Simultaneous Photocatalytic Hydrogen and Acetic Acid Evolution
BibTeX
@misc{gomes2026hydrocup,
title = {{The hydrocup: a hollow electrospun scaffold for in vivo hydrogel-laden cell delivery}},
author = {D. Boaventura Gomes and J. Zonderland and S. Vermeulen and S. Rezzola and A. Henriques Ferreira Lourenco and D. van Beurden and J. Venema and H. Liu and M. Peters and P. Emans and N. Bouvy and T. Rademakers and P. Wieringa and S. Camarero-Espinosa and L. Moroni},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.19.752872},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.19.752872v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The hydrocup: a hollow electrospun scaffold for in vivo hydrogel-laden cell delivery
AU - D. Boaventura Gomes
AU - J. Zonderland
AU - S. Vermeulen
AU - S. Rezzola
AU - A. Henriques Ferreira Lourenco
AU - D. van Beurden
AU - J. Venema
AU - H. Liu
AU - M. Peters
AU - P. Emans
AU - N. Bouvy
AU - T. Rademakers
AU - P. Wieringa
AU - S. Camarero-Espinosa
AU - L. Moroni
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/19
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.19.752872
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.19.752872v1
AB - For regenerative medicine applications, transplanted cells are difficult to retain in a specific place to maximize the localized release of cytokines, which can positively modulate immune responses, angiogenesis and tissue regeneration. Here, we developed a hollow electrospun (ESP) scaffold with one open and one closed end to enclose a hydrogel laden with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs); we termed this combination the hydrocup. hMSCs remained viable for 28 days in vitro and released functional cytokines similar to hMSCs in transplanted but non-enclosed hydrogels. The hydrocups remained intact and fixed in place for 6 weeks after subcutaneous implantation in rats, demonstrating in vivo compatibility. These results demonstrate that the hydrocup is the first, to our knowledge, cell-laden hydrogel delivery scaffold. This innovation could be developed for a wide variety of cell-based cytokine secretion or drug-laden hydrogel applications.
ER -