www.cen

imat.fct.u

nl.pt

Tissue Engineering Research at the Soft and Biofunctional Materials Group

Carlos João, Célia Henriques, João Paulo Borges, Jorge Carvalho Silva, José Luís Ferreira, Maria do Carmo Lança, Tânia Vieira

Tissue Engineering (TE) is an interdisciplinary field that combines the methods of engineering with the knowledge of the life and exact sciences for the development of functional biological substitutes to improve or replace the function of damaged

or missing organs or tissues.

The tissue engineer’s toolbox comprises biomaterials, cells and regulators of cell function.

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SKIN BONE & CARTILAGE

BLOOD VESSELS SPINAL CORD

TE projects at the SBMG

Microbiological tests with S. epidermidis

PVP+AgNO3 Nanofibers Irradiated with UV for 240 min

Control PCL CS GEL GTA0

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4W Control 4W PCL

4W CS 4W GEL

PCL

CS

GEL

Former students: Ana Espiga, Ana Luísa Marques, Cláudia Aragão, Falk Meutzner, Helena Cardoso, Maike Gomes, Rita Rosa, Susana Gomes, Tiago Valente

In vivo tests with Wistar rats

Wound contraction

Engineered skin substitute - Biomimetic approach: Porous, flexible, multilayered structure: nanofibers Comprising both dermal and epidermal - full skin - equivalents Use of autologous cells (from the patient himself)

PCL

Skin2: a biosynthetic second skin, engineered to treat severe burn wounds PTDC/SAU-BMA/109886/2009, 160 k€

Ag NanoparticlesCS

GEL

CC with 280 µm gelatin/PVA microspheres

PCL ICCs assessed with ATDC5 cells (pre-chondrocytes)

control

Alcian Blue

control

Safranin

PCL ICC, 280 µm pores. 20% PCL solution, freeze-dried

Surface

Pores

DAPI nuclear staining

Bioreactor culture chamber

Chitosan-­‐based  inverse  opals  produced  from  the  mesophases  of  this  biopolymer  will  be  able  to  mimic  the  structure  of  the  extracellular  matrix  of  bone.

Inverted Colloidal Crystal Scaffolds

Microspheres  production  and  

assembly  in  a  cubic  close  packed  lattice

Infiltration  with  polymeric  liquid  

crystalline  solutions

Inverse  replication  by  microspheres  removal

Histology

In vitro adhesion and proliferation tests

with human dermal fibroblasts

(16±3)µm/h

Biodegradable, hemocompatible, tubular scaffolds made from polymeric nanofibers incorporating topographical cues for directing cell migration and organization

Cell migration along aligned fibers

Average speed: (16±3) µm/h

High speed collector for the production of tubular scaffolds

Aligned PCL fibers

PCL multifibers

Staining for glicosaminoglycans with Safranin and Alcian Blue.

Current students: Carolina Pádua, Constança Garcia, João Miranda, Joana Bianchi, Luísa Fialho, Marc Silva, Margarida Rebelo, Nuno Figueiredo, Vasco Caetano

2D FFT analysis of scaffold anisotropy: frequency plots and alignment plots.

Flan

ders

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AJN

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rora

diol

199

9;20

:926

-934

Low-cervical lesion in a 24-year-old man with a C4 neurologic level injury (ASIA grade B) sustained after a diving accident. No motor function is preserved below the neu- rological level.

What happens?

Axonal connections are lost.

Diffusion Tensor Tractography image of an injured spinal cord

Can materials help? We are working on that!

Tailoring materials to promote SCI repair

In vitro, primary neurons on P C L / C h i t o s a n a l i g n e d electrospun nanofibers.

N1E-115 cell after 5 days in differentiation medium

Scaffolds may influence neural cells through multiple cues: topographical, mechanical, biochemical and electrical

Scaffolds may support cell transplantation and influence cell fate of stem cells.

Controlling topographic properties of materials to guide and enhance neurite outgrowth

Cylindrical rotating collector with variable rotating speed

250 rpm, chitosan

4000 rpm, chitosan

Control PCL CS GEL GTA0

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