ORCID Profile
0000-0002-1345-7224
Current Organisation
UNSW Sydney
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Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-07-2014
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-02-2018
Abstract: A novel, pure, synthetic material is presented that promotes the repair of full-thickness skin wounds. The active component is tropoelastin and leverages its ability to promote new blood vessel formation and its cell recruiting properties to accelerate wound repair. Key to the technology is the use of a novel heat-based, stabilized form of human tropoelastin which allows for tunable resorption. This implantable material contributes a tailored insert that can be shaped to the wound bed, where it hydrates to form a conformable protein hydrogel. Significant benefits in the extent of wound healing, dermal repair, and regeneration of mature epithelium in healthy pigs are demonstrated. The implant is compatible with initial co-treatment with full- and split-thickness skin grafts. The implant's superiority to sterile bandaging, commercial hydrogel and dermal regeneration template products is shown. On this basis, a new concept for a prefabricated tissue repair material for point-of-care treatment of open wounds is provided.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIOMATERIALS.2018.10.006
Abstract: Damaged corneas can lead to blindness. Due to the worldwide shortage of donor corneas there is a tremendous unmet demand for a robust corneal replacement that supports growth of the major corneal cell types. Commercial artificial corneas comprise plastic polymers that do not adequately support erse cell growth. We present a new class of protein elastomer-dominated synthetic corneas with attractive performance that intimately couple biologically active tropoelastin to mechanically robust and durable protein silk. Fabricated films substantially replicate the natural cornea physically and by interacting with both key cells types used in cornea repair. Performance encompasses optical clarity at high transmittance, compatible refractive index, substantial glucose permeability, compliant mechanical properties, and support of both growth and function of corneal epithelial and endothelial cells.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.ACTBIO.2019.04.029
Abstract: Electrospun yarns offer substantial opportunities for the fabrication of elastic scaffolds for flexible tissue engineering applications. Currently available yarns are predominantly made of synthetic elastic materials. Thus scaffolds made from these yarns typically lack cell signaling cues. This can result in poor integration or even rejection on implantation, which drive demands for a new generation of yarns made from natural biologically compatible materials. Here, we present a new type of cell-attractive, highly twisted protein-based yarns made from blended tropoelastin and silk fibroin. These yarns combine physical and biological benefits by being rendered elastic and bioactive through the incorporation of tropoelastin and strengthened through the presence of silk fibroin. Remarkably, the process delivered multi-meter long yarns of tropoelastin-silk mixture that were conducive to fabrication of meshes on hand-made frames. The resulting hydrated meshes are elastic and cell interactive. Furthermore, subcutaneous implantation of the meshes in mice demonstrates their tolerance and persistence over 8 weeks. This combination of mechanical properties, biocompatibility and processability into erse shapes and patterns underscores the value of these materials and platform technology for tissue engineering applications. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Synthetic yarns are used to fabricate textile materials for various applications such as surgical meshes for hernia repair and pelvic organ prolapse. However, synthetic materials lack the attractive biological and physical cues characteristic of extracellular matrix and there is a demand for materials that can minimize postoperative complications. To address this need, we made yarns from a combination of recombinant human tropoelastin and silk fibroin using a modified electrospinning approach that blended these proteins into functional yarns. Prior to this study, no protein-based yarns using tropoelastin were available for the fabrication of functional textile materials. Multimeter-long, uniform and highly twisted yarns based on these proteins were elastic and cell interactive and demonstrated processing to yield textile fabrics. By using these yarns to weave fabrics, we demonstrate that an elastic human matrix protein blend can deliver a versatile platform technology to make textiles that can be explored for efficacy in tissue repair.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 22-04-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.04.21.440768
Abstract: Advanced three-dimensional cell culture techniques have been adopted in many laboratories to better model in vivo tissue by recapitulating multi-cellular architecture and the presence of extracellular matrix features. We describe here a 3D cell culture platform in a small molecule screening workflow that uses traditional biomarker and intracellular kinase end point assay readouts. By combining the high throughput bioprinter Rastrum with the high throughput screening assay AlphaLISA, we demonstrate the utility of the workflow in 3D synthetic hydrogel cultures with breast cancer (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7) and fibroblast cells. To establish and validate the workflow, we treated the breast cancer cultures with doxorubicin, while fibroblast cultures were stimulated with the pro-inflammatory lipopolysaccharide. 3D and 2D MDA-MB-231 cultures were equally susceptible to doxorubicin treatment, while showing opposite ERK phosphorylation changes. Doxorubicin readily entered embedded MCF-7 spheroids and markedly reduced intracellular GSK3β phosphorylation. Furthermore, quantifying extracellular interleukin 6 levels showed a very similar activation profile for fibroblasts in 2D and 3D cultures, with 3D fibroblast networks being more resistant against the immune challenge. Through these validation experiments we demonstrate the full compatibility of the bioprinted 3D cell cultures with several widely-used 2D culture assays. The efficiency of the workflow, minimal culture handling, and applicability of traditional screening assays, demonstrates that advanced encapsulated 3D cell cultures can be used in 2D cell culture screening workflows, while providing a more holistic view on cell biology to increase the predictability to in vivo drug response.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2013
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIOMATERIALS.2018.11.011
Abstract: The ability to engineer a synthetic hierarchical vascular network is one of the most demanding and unaddressed challenges in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. A material that is both structurally rigid and biocompatible is needed to fabricate freestanding hierarchical vascular structures with defined dimensions and geometry. This is particularly important for creating commercially viable and easily suturable synthetic vasculature. Here, we present the surprising discovery that ice is a versatile material which satisfies these requirements. We demonstrate utilizing ice as a sacrificial scaffold, onto which a erse range of materials were coated, including tropoelastin, polycaprolactone (PCL), silk, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). We present ice facilitating the fabrication of freestanding hierarchical vascular structures with variable lumen dimensions, and validate the vascular application of these vessels by demonstrating their mechanical tunability, biocompatibility, and permeability to nutrient diffusion. This adaptable technology delivers engineered synthetic vasculature and has potential wider applications encompassing tissue engineering bespoke structures.
No related grants have been discovered for Behnaz Aghaei Ghareh Bolagh.