Challenges in biofunctionalisation of electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds
David Nisbet (ANU)
MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURINGDATE: 2011-03-16
TIME: 14:00:00 - 14:30:00
LOCATION: Ian Ross Seminar Room
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ABSTRACT:
The Central Nervous System will not regenerate following injury. The challenge lies in ecouraging endogenous axons to extend and bridge a lesion site, which is actively inhibited by factors such as scarring and the release of cytotoxic biomolecules in adults. Thus, there is a need for a combination strategy where tissue engineered scaffolds can incorporate chemical and physical cues to regulate the growth of neural cells and their processes. Recently, the engineering of biomaterials and optimisation of their morphologies and surfaces has been explored as a means of generating synthetic cellular microenvironments for this purpose. I have manipulated the morphology and surface biofunctionalisation of electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds for neural cell culture. Through optimising the morphology of the scaffolds it was discovered that CNS neurons crossed electrospun fibres perpendicularly to the direction of fibre alignment, unlike what has been observed from other cellular phenotypes on similar scaffolds.
BIO:
