Tissue engineering Flashcards
what is the goal of tissue engineering?
replace/improve biological tissue and their functions
different tissue artificially made/formed into bone/vessels/bladder/muscle
what does tissue engineering consist of
- scaffold - supporting tissue formation in 3D space
- living cell/tissue
- control over growth factors
- culturing - maintain oxygen/pH/humidity/temp/nutrients/osmotic pressure
- biocompatible/biodegradable and low immunogenicity
what is the general process for tissue engineering?
- remove cells from the body e.g. stem cells
- cell expansion in culture
- seed cultured cells on nano-fibrous scaffolds in culture media
- leave in culture to form functional tissue
- re-implant the engineered cell-scaffold construct to the injury site
what must the scaffolds must do?
to recapture the extracellular matrix (ECM) and microenvironment to match where the injury site is
what are important factors of scaffolds?
- Biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low immunogenicity
- provide mechanical support during the spatial tissue organisation of cells
- maintain mechanical integrity
- accelerate tissue formation
- composed of nanoscale fibres = better tissue compatibility
- potency of biomimetic fibres
- mimic ECM
- increased SA
- support cells
why is a scaffold important?
leads to sufficient neovascularisation, adequate oxygen supply, and mechanism for waste disposal
what are the advantages of metallic nanostructures?
Optical adjustability, electrical conductivity,
surface chemistry, ease of fabrication
what are engineered cardiac patches used for?
treating damaged heart tissues after a heart attack
how are engineered cardiac patches made?
biological polymers - alginate /synthetic polymers
such as poly(lactic) acid (PLA)
what are engineered cardiac patches made of ?
metallic nanostructure
what are the disadvantages of engineered cardiac patches?
poor conductivity of these materials limits the ability of the patch to contract strongly as a unit
what does gold nanowires incorporated into alginate scaffolds show?
To bridge the electrically resistant pore walls of alginate
To improve electrical communication between adjacent cardiac cells
The gold nanowires have also enhanced the tissue thickness and alignment
The cells in this tissue have shown the ability to contract synchronously corresponding to electrical stimuli
name material used in metallic nano materials in tissue engineering?
gold, silver and titanium/Ti6Al4V
when are carbon nanotubes used in tissue engineering?
cardiopulmonary applications - catheters
neuronal tissue regeneration
why are carbon nanotubes used in tissue engineering?
highly compatible with blood
chemically inert
neuronal tissue regeneration due to superior electrical conductivity = promote neurone attachment/growth /differentiation and long-term survival
