Short silk nanofibre based 3D scaffolds with enhanced biomimicry. This project aims to understand the behaviour of haematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in novel 3D scaffolds based on short silk nanofibres. This will lead to highly functional 3D scaffolding materials that support efficient HSC renewal in vitro. This project aims to overcome the key problem with existing in vitro systems, which lack the morphological and biochemical complexities of native HSC-niche. Since haematopoietic stem cells are ....Short silk nanofibre based 3D scaffolds with enhanced biomimicry. This project aims to understand the behaviour of haematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in novel 3D scaffolds based on short silk nanofibres. This will lead to highly functional 3D scaffolding materials that support efficient HSC renewal in vitro. This project aims to overcome the key problem with existing in vitro systems, which lack the morphological and biochemical complexities of native HSC-niche. Since haematopoietic stem cells are the precursors to all blood cells, this project has the potential of engineering a high yield artificial ‘blood factory’, which will help save the lives of many thousands of people who rely on bone marrow transplants to treat life-threatening illness such as leukaemia.Read moreRead less