Structured cell-instructive microgel materials

When: Wednesday, May 26, 2021, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Where: Online

Speaker: Marcy Zenobi-Wong

This week we welcome Professor Marcy Zenobi-Wong, American engineer and Professor of Tissue Engineering and Biofabrication at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - presenting 'Structured cell-instructive microgel materials'

Abstract: The tissue engineering (TE) field was established to create living replacement tissues to treat injured or diseased sites in the body by combining three 'pillars': cells, scaffolds, and biological/physical signals. Perhaps the greatest contributions to the TE field have come from the materials and processes used to generate the TE scaffold. These scaffolds are often based on hydrogels, which mimic the high water content of native extracellular matrices (ECM). Development of cell-instructive, biomimetic hydrogels to regulate multiple cellular processes has been reported, but most hydrogels are isotropic and thus fail to provide important microarchitectural cues for assembly of cellular structures. My laboratory is developing materials which provide such cues using microgels. The structured hydrogels show enhanced cell viability, infiltration, and proliferation due to their inherent macroporosity. We show how microgels can direct cell alignment of a variety of cell types and can be used in combination with deposition and vat polymerization bioprinting techniques.