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Project

Studying nanoscale heterogeneities and dynamics of new biomimetic polymer gels by means of super-resolution microscopy.

Living tissues are more than packed cells. In fact, much of a tissue's volume is made up of extracellular space, filled with a complex meshwork of sugars, water, minerals and proteins called the extracellular matrix (ECM). Besides providing a structure support to the cells, the ECM plays a crucial role in several cellular processes, such as cell survival, development, adhesion and migration. Biological scaffold materials derived from the ECM of intact mammalian tissues have been successfully used in a variety of tissue engineering/regenerative medicine applications. However, most of these materials will never make to the clinic due to issues with source, contamination and the risk of triggering an immune response. In the last years a great effort has been made in the development of new synthetic biomaterials. The adjustable mechanical properties and convenient control of the chemical composition provides more control over the material and thus over the cellular behaviors they induce. In this project I will develop and characterize new synthetic materials based on polyisocyanopeptide (PIC) gels. This unique type of gels resembles greatly the protein fibers encounter in the natural ECMs. By developing a new fast 3D super-resolution imaging microscopy technology, it will be possible to visualize the nanoscale heterogeneity and dynamics of these gels, while investigating its influence of cellular responses.

Date:1 Oct 2015 →  30 Sep 2019
Keywords:biomimetic polymer gels, super-resolution microscopy, dynamics, nanoscale heterogeneities
Disciplines:Sustainable chemistry