Tissue Engineering (TE) Scaffolds

TE seeks to regenerate healthy biological tissues. A scaffold provides a 3-D environment for cell to grow, differentiate, and proliferate and eventually produce new extracellular matrix (ECM) or tissue. Understanding scaffold guidance of cell behavior will permit scaffolds to be designed to produce new tissues with properties (e.g. mechanical) that better match natural tissues.

Grunlan Group Scaffold Research:

Scaffolds formed from poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEG-DA) are widely used in TE. To modulate both physical properties (e.g. mechanical, morphological) and chemical properties of PEG-DA hydrogels, we have introduced star-polydimethylsiloxane methacrylate (PDMSstarMA) as a 2nd component. These scaffolds are of particular interest to regenerate blood vessels, bone, and cartilage.