Formulation of osteogenic liposomes inspired by cell-derived vesicles

在过去的十年中，细胞外囊泡（EV）领域迅速扩大，并不断发现这些纳米颗粒在各种生物过程中发挥作用的新认识。在发育中的骨中，囊泡作为载体用于递送促成骨因子并启动基质矿化所需的早期成核事件。这个项目将试图了解调节骨再生的囊泡转移的货物。然后，这些机制将被用作灵感，以制定合成脂质体，可以纳入生物材料，以增强骨生成。这个学生将涉及提供全面培训将给予以下任务：1。成骨细胞和干细胞的体外细胞培养以产生细胞外囊泡，然后可以使用超离心分离2。使用一系列不同的技术表征囊泡大小、货物和脂质含量3。观察不同囊泡剂量对体外干细胞增殖和矿化的影响4。配制含有关键囊泡蛋白的脂质体，并研究其理化性质以及干细胞矿化的影响5。将优化的脂质体掺入可注射水凝胶生物材料中，以实现骨缺损的局部递送

In the last decade, the field of extracellular vesicles (EVs) has rapidly expanded and is constantly unearthing new understanding of the role these nanoparticles play in various biological processes. Within developing bone, vesicles function as vehicles for the delivery of pro-osteogenic factors and initiate early nucleation events necessary for matrix mineralisation. This project will seek to understand the cargo transferred by vesicles that modulate bone regeneration. These mechanisms will then be used as inspiration to formulate synthetic liposomes that may be incorporated into biomaterials to enhance osteogenesis. This studentship will involve delivering the following tasks for which full training will be given:1. In-vitro cell culture of osteoblasts and stem cells to produce extracellular vesicles that may then be isolated using ultracentrifugation2. Characterisation of vesicle size, cargo and lipid content using a range of different techniques3. Observe the effects of different vesicle dosages on the proliferation and mineralisation of stem cells in-vitro4. Formulate liposomes containing key vesicle proteins and characterise their physicochemical properties as well as influence of stem cell mineralisation5. Incorporate optimised liposomes into injectable hydrogel biomaterials to enable localised delivery to bone defects