Cell flocculation and phase-separation support macro-scale tissue slab construction in a scaffold-free manner
Jang S., Jeong JG., Choi BK., Kim Y., Song Y., Kim H.
Laboratory Study, published in Mater Today Bio (2026) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
- Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
- Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
- Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
- Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
- Emerging · Emerging topic under active research
This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.
- Study type
- Laboratory Study
- Journal
- Mater Today Bio (2026)
- Reported sample size
- —
- Source database
- Europe PMC
- PMID
- 41624523
- PMCID
- PMC12859492
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.mtbio.2025.102739
Abstract (original English)
Creating a macro-scale tissue without a scaffold is challenging, as it requires cells to bind cohesively throughout the tissue. When adherent cells are seeded in an attachment-deprived state, they typically form micro-sized spheroids rather than a single piece of cohesive tissue. In this study, cells flocculated with 0.1 % hyaluronic acid and subjected to phase-separation by adding 5 % polyethylene glycol (PEG) adhered to each other to form a single tissue mass. Further incubation in PEG-containing media induced a macromolecular crowding effect, creating stable cell-ECM interactions and a homogeneous texture. This process produced a macro-scale, slab-like tissue structure without scaffolds. The resulting slab tissues, constructed with bone marrow-derived multipotent stem cells (BM-MSCs) or chondrocytes, demonstrated high cellularity and a stabilized microstructure. Upon differentiation, these tissues showed excellent functionality, with superior chondrogenic potential in vitro. This study is the first report to demonstrate that cellular-level flocculation and phase-separation can control cell aggregation behavior to create macro-scale slab-like tissues without scaffolds while maintaining excellent cell functionality.
What this study does not prove
- • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
- • This is preclinical work; animal or laboratory results cannot be applied to humans.
Evidence level
Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.
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