Partner: M. Trombetta

Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma (IT)

Recent publications
1.Costantini M., Guzowski J., Żuk P.J., Mozetic P., De Panfilis S., Jaroszewicz J., Heljak M., Massimi M., Pierron M., Trombetta M., Dentini M., Święszkowski W., Rainer A., Garstecki P., Barbetta A., Electric Field Assisted Microfluidic Platform for Generation of Tailorable Porous Microbeads as Cell Carriers for Tissue Engineering, Advanced Functional Materials, ISSN: 1616-301X, DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201800874, Vol.28, pp.1800874-1-13, 2018
Abstract:

Injection of cell‐laden scaffolds in the form of mesoscopic particles directly to the site of treatment is one of the most promising approaches to tissue regeneration. Here, a novel and highly efficient method is presented for preparation of porous microbeads of tailorable dimensions (in the range ≈300–1500 mm) and with a uniform and fully interconnected internal porous texture. The method starts with generation of a monodisperse oil‐in‐water emulsion inside a flow‐focusing microfluidic device. This emulsion is later broken‐up, with the use of electric field, into mesoscopic double droplets, that in turn serve as a template for the porous microbeads. By tuning the amplitude and frequency of the electric pulses, the template droplets and the resulting porous bead scaffolds are precisely produced. Furthermore, a model of pulsed electrodripping is proposed that predicts the size of the template droplets as a function of the applied voltage. To prove the potential of the porous microbeads as cell carries, they are tested with human mesenchymal stem cells and hepatic cells, with their viability and degree of microbead colonization being monitored. Finally, the presented porous microbeads are benchmarked against conventional microparticles with nonhomogenous internal texture, revealing their superior performance.

Affiliations:
Costantini M.-Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
Guzowski J.-Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
Żuk P.J.-IPPT PAN
Mozetic P.-Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma (IT)
De Panfilis S.-Sapienza Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IT)
Jaroszewicz J.-other affiliation
Heljak M.-Warsaw University of Technology (PL)
Massimi M.-University of L’Aquila (IT)
Pierron M.-Telecom Physique Strasbourg (FR)
Trombetta M.-Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma (IT)
Dentini M.-Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
Święszkowski W.-other affiliation
Rainer A.-Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma (IT)
Garstecki P.-Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
Barbetta A.-Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
2.Celikkin N., Rinoldi C., Costantini M., Trombetta M., Rainer A., Święszkowski W., Naturally derived proteins and glycosaminoglycan scaffolds for tissue engineering applications, Materials Science and Engineering C, ISSN: 0928-4931, DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2017.04.016, Vol.78, pp.1277-1299, 2017
Abstract:

Tissue engineering (TE) aims to mimic the complex environment where organogenesis takes place using advanced materials to recapitulate the tissue niche. Cells, three-dimensional scaffolds and signaling factors are the three main and essential components of TE. Over the years, materials and processes have become more and more sophisticated, allowing researchers to precisely tailor the final chemical, mechanical, structural and biological features of the designed scaffolds. In this review, we will pose the attention on two specific classes of naturally derived polymers: fibrous proteins and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). These materials hold great promise for advances in the field of regenerative medicine as i) they generally undergo a fast remodeling in vivo favoring neovascularization and functional cells organization and ii) they elicit a negligible immune reaction preventing severe inflammatory response, both representing critical requirements for a successful integration of engineered scaffolds with the host tissue. We will discuss the recent achievements attained in the field of regenerative medicine by using proteins and GAGs, their merits and disadvantages and the ongoing challenges to move the current concepts to practical clinical application.

Keywords:

Natural polymers, Hydrogel scaffolds, Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), Fibrous proteins, Regenerative medicine

Affiliations:
Celikkin N.-Warsaw University of Technology (PL)
Rinoldi C.-other affiliation
Costantini M.-Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
Trombetta M.-Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma (IT)
Rainer A.-Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma (IT)
Święszkowski W.-other affiliation