MICA: Open-access biomaterials microfabrication and non-invasive imaging facilities for Regenerative Medicine.

我们提出了一个变革性的仪器投标，以催化协作再生医学研究。我们要求购买资本设备，这将使谢菲尔德的再生医学社区（他们都是大学生物材料和组织工程中心的成员）和英国保持在国际竞争研究的最前沿。在他们之间，申请者有解决临床问题的经验，这些问题目前无法通过传统治疗来解决——MacNeil已经为因烧伤而大面积皮肤脱落的患者开发了组织工程皮肤，并将其作为一个项目商业化（MySkin）。她还开发了组织工程化颊粘膜，并将其转化为尿道瘢痕患者的早期临床评估。她现在正与印度的同事合作，开发一种更简单、更安全的替代羊膜的方法。羊膜目前用于培养角膜干细胞，并将其转移到角膜瘢痕患者的诊所。这项关于微制造快速降解支架的工作（与Claeyssens一起）也导致了一种新的方法，用于扩大和加速含有3D结构的电纺丝支架的投影，以保护这些脆弱的细胞。Haycock在如何培养用于周围神经修复的干细胞方面取得了重大突破，并与Claeyssens合作开发了放置这些细胞的神经组织指南。这项工作显示了在神经横断动物模型中神经再生的重大希望，并计划用于临床翻译。这些组织工程技术的发展在很大程度上是由实验室现有的仪器和专业知识支撑的，但近年来，随着Matcher在生物光子学方面的国际专业知识的任命，这些技术得到了加强，并被应用于成像3D组织结构。新设备的购买将使这项工作进展到临床，对角膜、皮肤和神经植入后的细胞和结构进行成像。Claeyssens带来了微制造方面的专业知识，该技术已经在角膜和神经修复的持续项目中取得了重大进展，并有可能推进患者特定结构的生产，并扩大临床试验结构的生产规模。Rehman在生物组织（包括骨、细胞、组织和组织病理学固定活检）的FTIR和拉曼光谱方面拥有丰富的专业知识，这些技术目前正应用于研究皮肤的3D结构和分析支架的表面特性。此外，他在开发各种应用的生物活性引导再生膜方面的专业知识，如牙周治疗和修复材料，大大增加了该中心的生物材料制造组合。光学相干层析成像技术信息丰富，而光学相干层析成像细胞分辨率相对较差，但快速方便，可转化为临床。我们期待两种技术的协同作用。因此，申请者之间有一系列的应用和仪器技术来解决再生医学中的问题。所要求的设备不仅将支持这些项目，而且将使英国再生医学社区的其他成员受益，包括当地和整个英国研究社区。这将通过将这些技术作为英国研究界的开放获取设施来实现，因为英国的所有此类中心不太可能都能使用微加工和最先进的非侵入性成像设施。这些设施以谢菲尔德现有的研究专业知识为基础，将导致新的合作，并将使英国再生医学受益。

We propose a transformative instrumentation bid to catalyse collaborative regenerative medicine research. We are requesting to purchase capital equipment which will allow the regenerative medicine community in Sheffield (who are all members of the University Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering) and the UK to keep at the forefront of internationally competitive research. Between them the applicants have experience of tackling clinical problems, which are not currently amenable to conventional treatment - MacNeil has developed tissue engineered skin for patients with extensive skin loss due to burns injuries and commercialised this as a project (MySkin). She has also developed tissue engineered buccal mucosa and translated this into early stage clinical evaluation for patients with scarring of the urethra. She is now working with colleagues in India to develop a simpler and safer alternative to the amniotic membrane, which is currently used to culture corneal stem cells for transfer to the clinic for patients with scarring of the cornea. This work on microfabricating a rapidly degrading scaffold (with Claeyssens) has also led to a new methodology for scaling up and speeding up the projection of electrospun scaffolds which contain 3D structures to protect these fragile cells. Haycock has made significant breakthroughs in how to culture stem cells for peripheral nerve repair and working with Claeyssens has developed nerve tissue guides into which these cells are placed. This work is showing significant promise for nerve regeneration in animal models of nerve transection, with plans for clinical translation. The development of these tissue-engineering technologies is very much underpinned by current instrumentation and expertise within the laboratory, but has been strengthened in recent years with the appointment of Matcher who has international expertise in biophotonics, and this is being applied to imaging 3D tissue constructs. The purchase of new equipment will allow this work to progress into the clinic to image cells and constructs post implantation in the cornea, skin and nerve. Claeyssens brings expertise in microfabrication which has already led to significant advances in ongoing programmes of cornea and nerve repair and has the potential to advance to the production of patient specific constructs and to scale up the production of constructs for clinical trials. Rehman brings a wealth of expertise on FTIR and Raman spectroscopy of biological tissues, including bone, cell, tissues and histopathologically fixed biopsies, and these techniques are currently being applied to investigating 3D constructs of skin and analysing surface properties of scaffolds. In addition, his expertise in developing bioactive-guided regenerative membranes for various applications, such as periodontal treatment and restorative materials adds considerably to the biomaterials manufacturing portfolio of this centre. The latter technique is information rich while imaging cells with optical coherence tomography has relatively poor resolution but is fast and convenient and can be translated to the clinic. We anticipate synergy between having both technologies available.Thus, the applicants have between them a range of applications and instrumentation technologies to address problems in regenerative medicine. The equipment requested will not only support these projects but will benefit other members of the UK Regenerative Medicine community both locally and across the UK research community. This will be achieved by running the technologies as open access facilities for the UK research community, as it is unlikely that all such Centres in the UK will have access to microfabrication and state-of the art non-invasive imaging facilities. These facilities underpinned by the research expertise available in Sheffield will lead to new collaborations and will benefit UK Regenerative Medicine.