Formulation of a novel suspending medium for immobilised culture and tissue processing

爆炸或弹道伤后的骨损伤会导致损伤部位组织的机械性破坏和死亡。外科医生清扫组织，移除任何坏死区，这通常可以使缺陷完全再生。然而，目前还没有人知道组织损伤的性质，因为无法评估硬骨碎片中的结构或细胞反应。我们的假设是，骨骼中的高能撞击会导致穿透它的骨细胞网络的破坏。目前还没有方法能够在骨折内的解剖相关位置完全表征这些片段。该项目将寻求改进支持介质，以便在悬浮培养中保持重要组织。这样做将使我们能够评估组织在具有解剖学代表性的环境中愈合的能力。学生将必须制造一种支持相，在支持相对致密的组织悬浮的同时，能够调节氧气和营养物质的传输[3]。最终目标是将这些新材料整合到一种名为Clarity的新组织处理方法中，这将使我们能够直观地看到骨折碎片中骨细胞网络的分布。

Bone damage following blast or ballistic wounding results in the mechanic destruction and death of tissue at the site of injury. Surgeons debride away the tissue, removing any necrotic regions and this generally enables complete regeneration of the defect. At present, however, nobody knows the nature of damage to the tissue, as it is not possible to evaluate structure or cell response in the hard boney fragments. Our hypothesis is that high energy impact in the bone results in destruction of the osteocytic network that penetrates through it. Currently there are no methods that enable full characterisation of such fragments in anatomically relevant positions within the fracture.This project will seek to refine the supporting medium so that it is possible to maintain vital tissue in suspended culture. Doing this will allow us to evaluate the capacity of the tissue to heal in an anatomically representative environment. The student will have to manufacture a supporting phase that can mediate oxygen and nutrient transport while supporting the suspension of a relatively dense tissue [3]. The ultimate aim will be to incorporate these new materials into a novel tissue processing methodology called CLARITY, which will allow us to visual the distribution of the osteocyte network within the fracture fragments.