0000000000009374
AUTHOR
Natalie P. Smithers
Polmunary epithelial barrier formation on biodegradable poly-L-lactic-acid (PLLA) membrane
Aims: Investigation of epithelial barrier formation using PLLA membranes for application in bioengineering. Background: The development of functional and biocompatible substitutes for damaged tissue or organs is a major challenge in biomedical engineering. The epithelial barrier plays a central role in tissue homeostasis and immunity preventing damage and contamination of the interstitial tissues. Different in vitro models of the lung and intestinal epithelial barriers have been well characterized, however these tend to use non-biodegradable and/or poorly biocompatible scaffolds. Therefore, there is a need for better supports for epithelial cells for future applications in tissue engineerin…
Establishment of a pulmonary epithelial barrier on biodegradable poly-L-lactic-acid membranes
Development of biocompatible and functional scaffolds for tissue engineering is a major challenge, especially for development of polarised epithelia that are critical structures in tissue homeostasis. Different in vitro models of the lung epithelial barrier have been characterized using non-degradable polyethylene terephthalate membranes which limits their uses for tissue engineering. Although poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) membranes are biodegradable, those prepared via conventional Diffusion Induced Phase Separation (DIPS) lack open-porous geometry and show limited permeability compromising their use for epithelial barrier studies. Here we used PLLA membranes prepared via a modification of the…