Creating 3D biomimetic collagen extra-cellular matrices for cell biology and tissue engineering applications

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This project is intended to support a post-doctoral research assistant (PDRA) with materials/physics/chemistry/engineering background to hop to a tissue engineering group to investigate the fabrication and in vitro biological characterisation of 3D biomimetic collagen nanofibrous scaffolds for cartilage and bone tissue repair. It is hoped that long term collaboration between the Biomaterials Engineering Group of Dr Bo Su and the Tissue Engineering group of Professor Anthony Hollander will be fostered through this discipline hopping award and a joint interdisciplinary grant could result from the 12-month pilot study. The proposed study will address the well-recognised challenges of manufacturing collagen matrices with the mechanical properties of natural collagen structures by adapting microfluidic assisted co-electrospinning technique. The challenges arise in adapting electrospinning technique to accommodate biological materials, and learning how 3D biomimetic structures can be generated for tissue engineering application. Partnership between these two groups at the University of Bristol will bring together the complementary expertise necessary to make a step-change in research in this area.