Kimia Ghasemichepi

 Master student

Fabrication and investigation of functionalized nanoparticles incorporated in ADA-GEL for biofabrication applications

 

Supervisors: Hsuan-Heng Lu, Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini

Collaborator: PD Dr. Sahar Salehi-Müller (Univ. Bayreuth)

Alginate dialdehyde-gelatin (ADA-GEL) as a hydrogel mimics natural tissue extracellular matrix that is ideal for promoting cell growth and has shown excellent printability, biocompatibility, and success in various tissue engineering applications [1]. Bioactive glasses (BGs) are biomaterials used for supporting not only hard but also soft tissue regeneration, and recent advancements in nano-scaled BGs, like nanoparticles, showed improved biomolecule delivery and stimulation in tissue repair [2]. The combination of ADA-GEL with BGs has been shown to enhance the hydrogel’s stability, printability and support cell growth [3].

This Master’s thesis focuses on the development and characterization of hydrogel inks that are loaded with bioactive glass (BG) nanoparticles. BGs will be synthesized, and a group will be fluorescently labeled for tracking and visualization via fluorescence microscopy to understand BG-cell interaction. ADA-GEL- based hydrogel inks, with and without BGs, will be compared regarding their degradation, printability, and rheological properties. Furthermore, cell studies will be conducted to identify the viability of the cells when exposed to the hydrogels, BGs, and fluorescently labeled BGs.

[1] T. Distler, K. McDonald, S. Heid, E. Karakaya, R. Detsch, A.R. Boccaccini, Ionically and Enzymatically Dual Cross-Linked Oxidized Alginate Gelatin Hydrogels with Tunable Stiffness and Degradation Behavior for Tissue Engineering, ACS Biomater Sci Eng 6 (2020) 3899–3914. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c00677.

[2] J.-H. Lee, N. Mandakhbayar, A. El-Fiqi, H.-W. Kim, Intracellular co-delivery of Sr ion and phenamil drug through mesoporous bioglass nanocarriers synergizes BMP signaling and tissue mineralization, Acta Biomater 60 (2017) 93–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2017.07.021.

[3] S. Heid, K. Becker, J. Byun, I. Biermann, Z. Neščáková, H. Zhu, J. Groll, A.R. Boccaccini, Bioprinting with bioactive alginate dialdehyde-gelatin (ADA-GEL) composite bioinks: Time-dependent in-situ crosslinking via addition of calcium-silicate particles tunes in vitro stability of 3D bioprinted constructs, Bioprinting 26 (2022) e00200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bprint.2022.e00200