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Full-Text Articles in Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Application Of Composite Hydrogels To Control Physical Properties In Tissue Engineering And Regenerative Medicine, Cassidy Sheffield, Kaylee Meyers, Emil Johnson, Rupak Rajachar May 2018

Application Of Composite Hydrogels To Control Physical Properties In Tissue Engineering And Regenerative Medicine, Cassidy Sheffield, Kaylee Meyers, Emil Johnson, Rupak Rajachar

Michigan Tech Publications

The development of biomaterials for the restoration of the normal tissue structure–function relationship in pathological conditions as well as acute and chronic injury is an area of intense investigation. More recently, the use of tailored or composite hydrogels for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine has sought to bridge the gap between natural tissues and applied biomaterials more clearly. By applying traditional concepts in engineering composites, these hydrogels represent hierarchical structured materials that translate more closely the key guiding principles required for improved recovery of tissue architecture and functional behavior, including physical, mass transport, and biological properties. For tissue-engineering scaffolds in …


Thermal Fluid Models Of A Hydrogel Delivery System For Pancreatic Cancer Treatment, Nesrine Bouhrira May 2018

Thermal Fluid Models Of A Hydrogel Delivery System For Pancreatic Cancer Treatment, Nesrine Bouhrira

Theses and Dissertations

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most devastating cancers with low survival rates. This disease is difficult to detect due to the pancreas's location deep within the body. Therefore, diagnoses are often made in the later stages, making treatment options more limited and difficult. It has been hypothesized that direct injection into the tumor would enhance drug effectivenes. Therefore, we examined the use of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) combined with a fine needle injection to deliver a drug-eluding thermosensitive hydrogel directly into the tumor. Unfortunately normal body temperatures surrounding the EUS can warm the hydrogel drug combination beyond its phase transition …


Designing Synthetic Environments To Control Valvular Interstital Cells In Vitro, Kent E. Coombs May 2018

Designing Synthetic Environments To Control Valvular Interstital Cells In Vitro, Kent E. Coombs

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Aortic valve disease (AVD) is a large contributor to health costs in the United States affecting 2.8% of the population greater than 75 years old. With a growing elderly population due to medical advances, AVD will continue to rise in prevalence over time. Current treatments for AVD are insufficient due to a lack of preventative therapies and the bioprosthetic valves used for surgical replacement have major limitations. Tissue engineered heart valves (TEHVs) present an ideal solution to current AVD needs because of their biocompatibility, capability to integrate with the host’s tissue, and ability to utilize the natural repair mechanisms of …


Decellularized Matrices Effect On The Adaptive Immune Response, Kegan Sowers Jan 2018

Decellularized Matrices Effect On The Adaptive Immune Response, Kegan Sowers

Theses and Dissertations

Decellularized extracellular matrices have been a growing area of interest in the biomedical engineering fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.As these materials move toward clinical applications, the immune response to these materials will be a driving force toward their success in clinical approaches. Fully digested decellularized matrix constructs derived from porcine liver, muscle and lung were created to test the adaptive immune response. Hydrogel characterization ensured that the materials had relatively similar stiffness levels to reduce variability, and in vitro studies were conducted. Each individual construct as well as a gelatin control were plated with a co-culture of macrophages …


Degradability Of Poly(Ethylene) Based Microgels And Methods Of Improving High Polydispersity Index, Abrar Alniemi Jan 2018

Degradability Of Poly(Ethylene) Based Microgels And Methods Of Improving High Polydispersity Index, Abrar Alniemi

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In order to improve upon the utilization of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) microgel-based scaffolds in drug delivery applications, this work explores the use of degradable and non-degradable PEG for tunable scaffolds. Previously, issues concerning the required uniformity in microgel size and low polydispersity index have been encountered. As such, methods of refining polymer synthesis, microgel fabrication, and microgel size separation were explored. Overall, no solution has been found to correct the issue for the microgels were still observed to have high polydispersity index regardless of varied troubleshooting alterations.