{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T18:47:05Z","timestamp":1783450025970,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,28]],"date-time":"2025-11-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764288000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Gels"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Advanced cell-based therapies, including immunotherapy, regenerative medicine, and other biotechnological applications, require large quantities of viable mammalian cells for research and clinical use. Conventional enzymatic harvesting methods, such as trypsini-zation, can compromise cell integrity and reduce viability. This study investigates an al-ternative temperature-responsive approach using alginate beads incorporated with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), a polymer exhibiting a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of approximately 32 \u00b0C. This system enables temperature-controlled cell detachment while preserving cellular structure and extracellular matrix components, thereby potentially improving post-harvest viability compared to trypsin treatment. Ho-mogeneous alginate hydrogel beads were synthesized using a standard infusion pump and ionically crosslinked with calcium cations. The beads were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for morphology and by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and micro-computed tomography (\u00b5-CT) for compositional and thermal analysis. Mouse fibroblast cells (L929 cell line) were cultured on the beads, and their proliferation and viability were assessed using CCK-8 and Live\/Dead assays, demonstrating significant cell growth over seven days. The results suggest that PNIPAAm-modified alginate beads provide a promising, enzyme-free platform for efficient mammalian cell harvesting and delivery, with potential applications across advanced cell manufacturing and therapeutic technologies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/gels11120962","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,8]],"date-time":"2025-12-08T16:41:41Z","timestamp":1765212101000},"page":"962","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Non-Enzymatic Cell Expansion and Harvesting Using a Smart Thermo-Responsive Gel"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-5939-8512","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhiyu","family":"Yan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, London NW3 2PF, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nuno","family":"Honrado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, London NW3 2PF, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9514-0174","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Naiwen","family":"Tan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, London NW3 2PF, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Md Anirban","family":"Jyoti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, London NW3 2PF, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8532-8296","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Linh","family":"Nguyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, London NW3 2PF, UK"},{"name":"UCL Eastman-Korea Dental Medicine Innovation Centre, Dankook University, Cheonan 31116, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Atala, A., and Allickson, J.G. 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