Tech Development for Manipulation of Biological Material into Scaffolded Forms via Hacked Hardware

Abstract

Tissue Engineering holds promise for both clinical and research applications, where there is significant interest in the creation of artificial scaffolding (e.g., hydrogels) for subsequent tissue growth: here a balance must be struck between the openness of the structures (to promote access to nutrients) versus the mechanical strength of the structures. We aim to explore different techniques for organizing biological materials, using repurposed (‘hacked’) hardware. Continuous or droplet-based deposition is possible either via robotic automation along the lines of 3D printing, or via photolithographic approaches that yield microfluidic “lab-on-a-chip” devices capable of droplet generation at much smaller scales than commercially available systems provide. We will also explore co-SWIFT, a technique developed by the Jennifer Lewis lab at Harvard, which controls the deposition of epithelial cells into structures appropriate to organ development, while also replicating the natural barrier surrounding human organs