Irene Maria Chiara Cecchini

Visiting Master student, (Polytechnic of Milan, Italy)

Development of a Pro-Angiogenic 3D In Vitro Model for Adipose Tissue

Supervisor in Milan: Prof. Silvia Fare

Supervisor in Erlangen: Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini

Hydrogel-based scaffolds are widely used in tissue engineering because they can mimic features of the extracellular matrix and support cell growth and tissue formation. However, in vitro models of adipose tissue may require a level of biological complexity, particularly a vascular component, that hydrogels alone often struggle to provide. This project aims to develop bioreactive nanoparticle incorporated ADA-GEL [1] scaffolds as 3D in vitro models of adipose tissue affected by breast cancer [2]. ADA-GEL is a soft, gelatin-containing hydrogel whose stiffness can be tuned to be able to reproduce the pathological environment. Bioreactive silicate (ion releasing) nanoparticles will be added to the ADA-GEL matrix, as these materials have shown potential for soft tissue engineering applications and for the promotion of angiogenesis [3,4]. Different silicate formulations will be investigated, and the scaffolds will be evaluated through cell-based assays to determine their ability to support cell viability and to promote angiogenic signalling.

[1] Karakaya E, Schöbel L, Zhong Y, Hazur J, Heid S, Forster L, Teßmar J, Boccaccini AR, Detsch R. How to Determine a Suitable Alginate for Biofabrication Approaches using an Extensive Alginate Library? Biomacromolecules. 2023 Jul 10;24(7):2982-2997. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c01282.

[2] Schmid R, Schmidt SK, Hazur J, Detsch R, Maurer E, Boccaccini AR, Hauptstein J, Teßmar J, Blunk T, Schrüfer S, Schubert DW, Horch RE, Bosserhoff AK, Arkudas A, Kengelbach-Weigand A. Comparison of Hydrogels for the Development of Well-Defined 3D Cancer Models of Breast Cancer and Melanoma. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Aug 17;12(8):2320. doi: 10.3390/cancers12082320.

[3] Balasubramanian P, Büttner T, Miguez Pacheco V, Boccaccini AR. Boron-containing bioactive glasses in bone and soft tissue engineering. J Eur Ceram Soc. 2018;38(3):855-869. doi: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2017.11.001.

[4] Pianou ME, Mîrț AL, Rigano V, Verné E, Baino F, Boccaccini AR. Bioprinting with bioactive glasses: a review on material design, biological performance and tissue engineering applications. Acta Biomater. 2026;217:1-20. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2026.05.010.