Andreina
Parisi-Amon |
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email: andreina AT
stanford DOT
edu
Dept:
Bioengineering
B.S.E Biomedical Engineering,
Duke University
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2D cell culture, although convenient, does not come close to
imitating the cells' native environment, complicating the quest to
understand what directs cellular proliferation and differentiation.
Enter MITCH, our mixing-induced, two-component hydrogel. This material
is made from recombinant proteins that harness the binding interactions
between WW and proline-rich domains. By creating two
components, each one multiple repeat strands of one of these
domains, and mixing them together, we form a material that gels upon
mixing. It is ideal for cell encapsulation since no harsh treatments,
such as pH or temperature shifts, are needed to induce gelling. These
gels have already been used to direct the proliferation and
differentiation of neural precursor cells into neurons. Human adipocyte
derived stem cells (hASCs) are adult stem cells that are easilty and
abundantly harvested through a simple liposuction procedure. It has
already been shown in 2D that hASCs are able to differentiate into
osteoblasts and lay down a calcium matrix. My goal is to take advantage
of our ability to tune the material's mechanical properties to use the
scaffold for bone regeneration applications.
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