This CRP will support interested institutions in preparation and testing of instructive scaffolds and surfaces using radiation technology to create tissue grafts and help to decrease the need for human donors. It would also be considered as a forum for information, knowledge, and technology exchange among participating institutions and facilitate the formation of a network between the diverse disciplines involved. Radiation technologies plays a role in facilitating and accelerating the development of tissue engineering by addressing some of its challenges and opportunities, such as preparation/optimization of instructive scaffolds and their sterilization. The CRP is jointly conducted by the Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences (NAPC) and the Division of Human Health (NAHU). While NAPC will implement the part related to the development and testing of the instructive surfaces and scaffolds, NAHU will carry out the biomedical application part related to the end-uses of the instructive surfaces and scaffolds.
is to engineer instructive scaffolds and surfaces using radiation technology to create tissues from autologous and allogeneic human somatic cells to provide tissue grafts and decrease the need for human donors.
To bring together researchers from different research directions with end-users
To investigate and optimize the preparation of instructive scaffolds and surfaces
To investigate the use of radiation sterilization of the new instructive scaffolds and decellularized matrices
To study cell-cell-scaffold-matrix-ECM interaction
To study the possibilities and effectiveness of combining biological and non-biological materials on regeneration/repair
This CRP supported interested institutions in preparation and testing of instructive scaffolds and surfaces using radiation technology to create tissue grafts and help to decrease the need for human donors. It would also be considered as a forum for information, knowledge, and technology exchange among participating institutions and facilitate the formation of a network between the diverse disciplines involved. Radiation technologies plays a role in facilitating and accelerating the development of tissue engineering by addressing some of its challenges and opportunities, such as preparation/optimisation of instructive scaffolds and their sterilisation. The CRP is jointly conducted by the Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences (NAPC) and the Division of Human Health (NAHU). While NAPC (F23030) will implement the part related to the development and testing of the instructive surfaces and scaffolds, NAHU (E31007) will carry out the biomedical application part related to the end-uses of the instructive surfaces and scaffolds.
Human tissue, autologous and allogeneic, is an important resource for medical treatment. For example, such tissues are used in burn treatments, reconstructive surgery, cancer care, and skin replacements.
One source of human tissue, tissue banking, exists primarily because of the generosity and goodwill of tissue donors and their families. However, many countries face a shortage of donor tissues/organs due to religious concerns, lack of donor registration programs, fiscal constraints, etc. Shortage of donor tissue drives the needs for technologies to enhance healing and tissue reconstruction. Tissue engineering promises the development of new tissue created either from “cultured” cells (including stem cells) or by directing and guiding the body’s own regenerative mechanisms. Tissue engineering can be facilitated by synthetically produced bio-materials and make use of nanotechnology. Tissue engineering, whether or not combined with traditional tissue banking techniques might solve the shortage of donor material in the future and lead to true regenerative tissue and organ replacement.
Radiation technologies play a role in facilitating and speeding up the development of tissue engineering by addressing some of its challenges and opportunities. These include preparation/optimisation of instructive scaffolds, preparation of gels, surface grafting, inhibition of cell growth in stem cell feeder layers and sterilisation. A number of methods can be used to generate instructive matrices to be employed in tissue engineering. Among them, the application of radiation technology for formation and modification of surfaces and matrices has remarkable advantages such as: initiation of low temperature reactions, absence of harmful initiators, high penetration through the bulk materials and curing of different types of polymeric materials (by polymerisation, grafting and cross-linking). Additionally, radiation synthesised surfaces and scaffolds might simultaneously be modified and sterilised. Radiation sterilisation is a well-established technology. It is a reliable and effective process used industrially for nearly 60 years. Medical devices, raw materials for pharmaceuticals, bio-materials, tissue allografts, and cosmetics among other products are routinely sterilised by ionising radiation.