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Full-Text Articles in Biomaterials
Development And Characterization Of A Decellularized Neuroinhibitory Scaffold Containing Matrix Bound Nanovesicles, Logan Piening
Development And Characterization Of A Decellularized Neuroinhibitory Scaffold Containing Matrix Bound Nanovesicles, Logan Piening
Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Chronic low back pain (LBP) is a leading cause of disability but treatments for LBP are limited. Degeneration of the intervertebral disc leads to loss of neuroinhibitory sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAGs) which allows nerves from dorsal root ganglia (DRG) to grow into the core of the disc, leading to pain. Current treatments for LBP involve drugs that do not target the source of the pain and lack long term efficacy or use invasive surgeries with high complication rates. Treatment with a decellularized tissue scaffold that contains neuroinhibitory components may inhibit nerve growth and prevent disc-associated LBP. Here, a decellularized nucleus pulposus …
Injectable Gelatin-Silk Fibroin Composite Hydrogels For In Situ Cell Encapsulation, Ryann D. Boudreau
Injectable Gelatin-Silk Fibroin Composite Hydrogels For In Situ Cell Encapsulation, Ryann D. Boudreau
Honors Theses and Capstones
Hydrogels are widely used tools for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Characterized as biofunctional, water-based polymer matrices with tunable mechanical properties, hydrogels have promising but limited applications in biomedical engineering, due to poor and static matrix strength. Here we plan to rectify this issue by introducing a new hydrogel made from a composite of gelatin and silk fibroin crosslinked by microbial transglutaminase (mTG) instantly and beta sheet formation gradually, respectively. This interpenetrating network (IPN) shows enhanced mechanical stiffness and strength compared to gelatin hydrogels, and is capable of encapsulating human cells with high viability demonstrated by the encapsulation of human …