A Novel Soft Robotics Petri Dish for Tissue Engineering

用于组织工程的新型软机器人培养皿

• 批准号: 2112929
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Leeds
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2018 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2112929
• 关键词: Novel; Soft; Robotics; Petri; Dish

The complexity of the physiological environment is not replicated in petri dishes or microplates. All cells are exquisitely sensitive to their micro-environment which is rich with cues from other cells, and from mechanical stimuli due to fluid flow, perfusion and movement. This is a major limitation to experiments investigating cellular responses in-vitro since the complex interplay of mechanical and biochemical factors are absent. With the use of our newly designed "soft" petri dish, we shall investigate the effect of mechanical force to cell behaviour using two cellular models, tendon cells and neurons. Deterioration of musculoskeletal tissue to a stage where surgical intervention is needed is one of the biggest social and economic burdens (which is set to increase with an aging population) facing our healthcare system. Injuries to connective tissues at the joint can cause severe pain, reduction in mobility or decreased efficiency of limb function. Methods to culture replacement tissue are being developed due to the poor success rates of surgical repairs. However, currently these techniques are either failing to provide stimuli that mimic the real mechanical environment of cells, or doing so in impractical costly manner. In this project an alternative soft robotic solution will be created to supply in-vitro cell cultures with more accurate bodily strains at a fraction of the price. The student will design and fabricate a soft Petri dish that applies multiaxial strain to the tissue on its surface. This is then incubated to provide the correct conditions for growth. Additional considerations must also be made about the functionality and safety of materials chosen. Variations in mechanical properties will cause differences in deformation during actuation and, as this is a medical device, the materials and coatings must comply with ISO 10993-1 (USFDA, 2016) to assure risks within their application are minimised. The mechanism chosen to adhere the scaffold to the Petri dish surface must also account for these details.The student will learn how to culture primary cells on soft material. Successful culture will be subjected to various degrees of stretching to investigate the effect of stretching to cell damage. The aim of this project is to design, fabricate and validate a soft robotic Petri dish that provides multidimensional strain to cell cultures, thus mimicking biological movementThis project will generate scientific advances in knowledge and methods for the design, fabrication of bioreactors. This technology will create a new paradigm in tissue engineering by providing 3D mechanical stimuli to cells during culture that mimic the real mechanical environment of growth in biological systems. IP generated through the project and exploitation of this will be managed through the University's Research and Innovation Service who work closely with IP Group, a UK leading venture capital partner, to support commercial exploitation routes.

生理环境的复杂性无法在培养皿或微孔板中复制。所有细胞都对其微环境极其敏感，该微环境富含来自其他细胞以及由于流体流动、灌注和运动而产生的机械刺激的信号。这是研究体外细胞反应的实验的主要限制，因为不存在机械和生化因素的复杂相互作用。通过使用我们新设计的“软”培养皿，我们将使用两种细胞模型（肌腱细胞和神经元）研究机械力对细胞行为的影响。肌肉骨骼组织恶化到需要手术干预的阶段是我们的医疗保健系统面临的最大社会和经济负担之一（随着人口老龄化而增加）。关节结缔组织损伤会导致剧烈疼痛、活动能力下降或肢体功能效率下降。由于手术修复的成功率很低，正在开发培养替代组织的方法。然而，目前这些技术要么无法提供模拟细胞真实机械环境的刺激，要么以不切实际、成本高昂的方式提供刺激。在该项目中，将创建一种替代的软机器人解决方案，以较低的价格为体外细胞培养物提供更准确的身体应变。学生将设计和制造一个柔软的培养皿，对其表面的组织施加多轴应变。然后将其孵化以提供正确的生长条件。还必须额外考虑所选材料的功能和安全性。机械性能的变化会导致驱动过程中变形的差异，并且由于这是一种医疗设备，材料和涂层必须符合 ISO 10993-1（USFDA，2016），以确保将其应用中的风险降至最低。选择将支架粘附到培养皿表面的机制也必须考虑这些细节。学生将学习如何在软材料上培养原代细胞。成功的培养物会受到不同程度的拉伸，以研究拉伸对细胞损伤的影响。该项目的目的是设计、制造和验证一个软机器人培养皿，为细胞培养物提供多维应变，从而模仿生物运动。该项目将为生物反应器的设计、制造的知识和方法带来科学进步。该技术将在培养过程中为细胞提供 3D 机械刺激，模拟生物系统中生长的真实机械环境，从而创建组织工程的新范例。通过该项目产生的知识产权及其利用将通过大学的研究和创新服务机构进行管理，该服务机构与英国领先的风险投资合作伙伴IP Group密切合作，以支持商业开发路线。