The interplay of matrix rigidity and mechanical stretching for the development of artificial skin

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine provides the possibility for generating organs in laboratorial settings as an off-the-shelf-technology that can provide an alternative therapeutic pathway for transplantations and replace non-functional organs. Many engineered tissues have been attempted in the past decade including skin, blood vessel, cartilage and bone but they lack the mechanical properties and biological functionality of their real counterparts which leads to failure in vivo. Matrix rigidity and mechanical forces are key regulators of tissue homeostasis and are essential for tissue formation, remodeling and healthy function. As a consequence, mechanical stimulation has frequently been employed to improve tissue morphogenesis, and cellular spatial organization but it has not been previously implemented in a synergistic manner with matrix rigidity due to lack of tools in 3D cell culture systems. The goal of this study is to investigate the structural changes, the morphological alterations and tissue formation by developing a novel 3D construct that is resilient with controlled matrix stiffness and which can sustain mechanical strain. This template can be used to further elucidate the biochemical pathways for stem cell differentiation that result into the regeneration of a series of tissues.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Bioengineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Antoniadou, Eleni

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kong, Hyun Joon

• Matrix stiffness
• Mechanical stretching
• artificial skin
• tissue engineering

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2012 Eleni Antoniadou

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/42480

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/42480