Cellular Hitchhiking on Microparticles to Alleviate Skin Injury
Department
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Major
Chemical Engineering
Research Advisor
Barua, Sutapa
Advisor's Department
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Funding Source
Missouri S&T OURE, principal investigator’s start-up, and the University of Missouri Research Board Award
Abstract
Regenerative medicine holds great potential for the treatment of tissue damage. However, there are currently very few clinical applications of cell-based therapies; numerous studies have encountered complications with keeping transplant cells alive. To overcome this, the present study focuses on engineering polymer microparticles. These microparticles may provide the following: mechanical support for adherent cells in suspension, a means of culturing enormous amounts of cells in small volumes, and receptor-ligand specific signal mediated cell growth.
In this study, a simple flow-focusing device was developed to synthesize poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles with the solvent diffusion method. Particle diameters of approximately 200 μm were achieved. Additionally, particle surface chemistry was modified to promote cell adhesion, and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were cultured with these particles in suspension. We call this “cellular hitchhiking”. The specific goal of this research is treatment of skin injury, but the technique has versatile tissue regeneration applications.
Biography
Chase Herman is a 3rd-year undergraduate student from the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Missouri S&T. Since his middle school days, he has enthusiastically participated in many research and design projects. During high school he competed in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and was privileged to personally meet Robert Horvitz, a Nobel laureate. Listening to Dr. Horvitz and other laureates ignited Chase’s excitement for scientific research.
Since high school, Chase has worked in multiple research labs, both in academia and industry. This summer he will be participating in the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduate program (NSF-REU) at the University of Delaware. He hopes to graduate in May of 2018 and then pursue doctoral studies.
Research Category
Engineering
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Document Type
Presentation
Award
Engineering oral presentation, First place
Location
Missouri Room
Presentation Date
11 Apr 2017, 10:30 am - 11:00 am
Cellular Hitchhiking on Microparticles to Alleviate Skin Injury
Missouri Room
Regenerative medicine holds great potential for the treatment of tissue damage. However, there are currently very few clinical applications of cell-based therapies; numerous studies have encountered complications with keeping transplant cells alive. To overcome this, the present study focuses on engineering polymer microparticles. These microparticles may provide the following: mechanical support for adherent cells in suspension, a means of culturing enormous amounts of cells in small volumes, and receptor-ligand specific signal mediated cell growth.
In this study, a simple flow-focusing device was developed to synthesize poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles with the solvent diffusion method. Particle diameters of approximately 200 μm were achieved. Additionally, particle surface chemistry was modified to promote cell adhesion, and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were cultured with these particles in suspension. We call this “cellular hitchhiking”. The specific goal of this research is treatment of skin injury, but the technique has versatile tissue regeneration applications.
