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Development Of Water-Soluble Polyesters For Tissue Engineering Applications, Trent Gordon
Development Of Water-Soluble Polyesters For Tissue Engineering Applications, Trent Gordon
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The development of tunable polymers has become increasingly important for both tissue engineering and drug delivery. This thesis investigates the development of water-soluble polyesters that contain both natural and synthetic components. These polymers offer tunable chemical structures, as well as functional groups for the conjugation of crosslinking moieties or cell signaling molecules. The first series of polymers was synthesized from poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and aspartic acid (Asp) via a titanium catalyzed transesterification method to provide polymers with molar masses of 12 kg/mol. After deprotection, the pendent functional groups of Asp were reacted with methacrylic, maleic, and itaconic anhydride to introduce …
Design Of Cell-Instructive Biomaterial Scaffolds For Intervertebral Disc Regeneration, Nadia Sharma
Design Of Cell-Instructive Biomaterial Scaffolds For Intervertebral Disc Regeneration, Nadia Sharma
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Biomaterials-based therapies targeting the nucleus pulposus (NP) have the potential to promote regeneration and restore mechanical function to the intervertebral disc. This study developed composite hydrogels incorporating decellularized NP (DNP) and assessed its effects on viability, retention and differentiation of U-CH1 cells, an NP progenitor-like cell line. A minimal protocol was developed to decellularize bovine NP that reduced nuclear content while preserving key extracellular matrix components predicted to be favourable for bioactivity. The resulting DNP demonstrated cell-instructive effects, supporting U-CH1 viability and retention within the hydrogels, and promoted the differentiation of the progenitor-like cells towards an NP-like phenotype. These studies …