Search results for "scaffold"

Tailoring the Interface of Biomaterials to Design Effective Scaffolds

2018

Tissue engineering (TE) is a multidisciplinary science, which including principles from material science, biology and medicine aims to develop biological substitutes to restore damaged tissues and organs. A major challenge in TE is the choice of suitable biomaterial to fabricate a scaffold that mimics native extracellular matrix guiding resident stem cells to regenerate the functional tissue. Ideally, the biomaterial should be tailored in order that the final scaffold would be (i) biodegradable to be gradually replaced by regenerating new tissue, (ii) mechanically similar to the tissue to regenerate, (iii) porous to allow cell growth as nutrient, oxygen and waste transport and (iv) bioactiv…

Cutting-edge progress and challenges in stimuli responsive hydrogel microenvironment for success in tissue engineering today.

2020

The field of tissue engineering has numerous potential for modified therapeutic results and has been inspired by enhancements in bioengineering at the recent decades. The techniques of regenerating tissues and assembling functional paradigms that are responsible for repairing, maintaining, and revitalizing lost organs and tissues have affected the entire spectrum of health care studies. Strategies to combine bioactive molecules, biocompatible materials and cells are important for progressing the renewal of damaged tissues. Hydrogels have been utilized as one of the most popular cell substrate/carrier in tissue engineering since previous decades, respect to their potential to retain a 3D str…

Surface-modified 3D starch-based scaffold for improved endothelialization for bone tissue engineering

2009

Providing adequate vascularization is one of the main hurdles to the widespread clinical application of bone tissue engineering approaches. Due to their unique role in blood vessel formation, endothelial cells (EC) play a key role in the establishment of successful vascularization strategies. However, currently available polymeric materials do not generally support EC growth without coating with adhesive proteins. In this work we present argon plasma treatment as a suitable method to render the surface of a 3D starch-based scaffold compatible for ECs, this way obviating the need for protein pre-coating. To this end we studied the effect of plasma modification on surface properties, protein …

Alginate/silica composite hydrogel as a potential morphogenetically active scaffold for three-dimensional tissue engineering

2013

Pursuing our aim to develop a biomimetic synthetic scaffold suitable for tissue engineering, we embedded bone cells, osteoblast-related SaOS-2 cells and osteoclast-like RAW 264.7 cells, into beads, formed of a Na-alginate-based or a silica-containing Na-alginate-based hydrogel matrix. The beads were incubated either separately (only one cell line in a culture dish) or co-incubated (SaOS-2-containing beads and RAW 264.7 beads). The alginate and alginate/silica hydrogel matrices were found not to impair the viability of the encapsulated cells. In these matrices the SaOS-2 cells retain their capacity to synthesize hydroxyapatite crystallites. The mechanical properties, including surface roughn…

Material scaffolding : Supporting the comprehension of migrant cleaners at work

2016

Linguistic diversity is growing in labour markets throughout Europe, including Finland, where cleaning is the most common job for immigrants. This paper explores material scaffolding provided for second language users in tasks involved in cleaning work. The notion of ‘scaffolding’ refers to temporary and adaptive support, and here the emphasis is especially on ‘material scaffolding’, that is, material artefacts and body movements employed in mentoring. The theoretical framework of the study is van Lier’s (2004) ecological perspective on language learning, and a discourse-ethnographic perspective of nexus analysis (Scollon and Scollon 2004) is adopted to analyse the ethnographic data collect…

Double Flow Bioreactor for In Vitro Test of Drug Delivery.

2015

In this work, double-structured polymeric scaffolds were produced, and a double flow bioreactor was designed and set up in order to create a novel system to carry out advanced in vitro drug delivery tests. The scaffolds, consisting of a cylindrical porous matrix, are able to host cells, thus mimicking a three-dimensional tumor mass: moreover, a “pseudo-vascular” structure was embedded into the matrix, with the aim of allowing a flow circulation. The structure that emulates a blood vessel is a porous tubular-shaped scaffold prepared by Diffusion Induced Phase Separation (DIPS), with an internal lumen of 2 mm and a wall thickness of 200 micrometers. The as-prepared vessel was incorporated…

Hyaluronic acid and alpha-elastin based hydrogel for three dimensional culture of vascular endothelial cells

2018

Abstract The aim of this work was to demonstrate that employing a copolymer of hyaluronic acid and α-elastin (HA-EDA-g-α-elastin) is possible to produce a scaffold able to support the adhesion and growth of human vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) thanks to its ability to incorporate and control the diffusion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). HA-EDA-g-α-elastin was crosslinked with low molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HALMW) to obtain a hydrogel that gives rise to the formation of three dimensional sponge after the freeze drying process. The physicochemical features the obtained material along with its ability to act as a support for the three dimensional culture of endothelial…

A 3D‑scaffold of PLLA induces the morphological differentiation and migration of primary astrocytes and promotes the production of extracellular vesi…

2019

The present study analyzed the ability of primary rat astrocytes to colonize a porous scaffold, mimicking the reticular structure of the brain parenchyma extracellular matrix, as well as their ability to grow, survive and differentiate on the scaffold. Scaffolds were prepared using poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) via thermally-induced phase separation. Firstly, the present study studied the effects of scaffold morphology on the growth of astrocytes, evaluating their capability to colonize. Specifically, two different morphologies were tested, which were obtained by changing the polymer concentration in the starting solution. The structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and a…

3D cultures of primary astrocytes on Poly-L-lactic acid scaffolds

Tissue engineering is an emerging multidisciplinary field that aims at reproducing in vitro tissues with morphological and functional features similar to the biological tissue of the human body. Polymeric materials can be used in contact with biological systems in replacing destroyed tissue by transplantation [1]. Several biopolymers, including poly L (lactic acid) (PLLA), have been used in biomedical applications to set scaffolds with ductile proprieties and biodegradation kinetics [2]. In particular, the PLLA scaffold topography mimics the natural extracellular matrix and makes it a good candidate for neural tissue engineering. We report about of 3D system the PLLA porous scaffolds prepar…

Development of a novel in vitro system for biomedical applications

2022

Nella ricerca scientifica e medica, l'uso degli animali ha apportato notevoli benefici all’uomo. Sebbene la loro fisiologia non imiti perfettamente il corpo umano, essi agiscono come perfetti "modelli" per lo studio delle malattie umane e lo sviluppo di nuovi farmaci e trattamenti. Tuttavia, secondo la Food and Drug Administration (FDA), solo l'8% dei farmaci testati sugli animali è considerato sicuro ed efficace per l'uso sull’essere umano, il 92% non lo è. Questi tassi di fallimento estremamente elevati nello sviluppo di farmaci, insieme ai costi in forte aumento, hanno portato molti ricercatori a rivalutare il valore degli studi in vivo sugli animali. Questo è stato il motivo per cui, ne…