2.7.2 Live/Dead assay
The viability of HCT-116 cells encapsulated in the eSF hydrogel microfluidic chip was assessed by live/dead assay. For this, at endpoints, a portion randomly cut from the device was washed with PBS (Sigma-Aldrich) and incubated for 40 min with calceĆ­n AM (1 mM; live cells in green) and ethidium-homodimer (6 mM; dead cells in red). Microfluidic chips were then imaged using an inverted SP8 confocal microscope (Leica, Germany) using automated acquisition for Z-stack and multi-color channel.