Two-Photon Polymerization 4D Printing of Mechanical Metamaterials

Shape morphing is a prevalent feature in all living organisms. Incorporating shape-morphing capabilities into engineered scaffolds in the field of tissue engineering by virtue of 4D printing would allow for structures to closely mimic in-vivo conditions, and dynamically interact with changing cellular microenvironments. Engineered scaffolds...

Two-Photon Polymerization of 3D Electrically Conductive Scaffolds for Neuronal Cell Studies

The brain is the most intricate organ in the human body, yet the underlying mechanisms of its cells and networks are not fully mapped. In addition to this lack of understanding, there are numerous neurological disorders and diseases for which a cure remains elusive. There has been persistent research to understand how neuronal cells function...

Fabrication methods of a novel 3D hybrid stiffness scaffold for neuron mechanosensing

Two-photon polymerization-based 3D-multi-electrode arrays for electrical monitoring of neuronal cells

3D-multi-electrode arrays (3D-MEAs) are needed to overcome the limitations of 2D-multi-electrode arrays (2D-MEAs) and enable the electrical characterization of 3D neuronal cultures in in vitro brain models, advancing the understanding of neurological disorders and paving the way to personalized medicine. The aim of this thesis was to overcome...

Two-photon polymerized scaffolds for neuronal differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells

The central nervous system has a very limited capacity to regenerate damaged tissue. Therefore, regeneration strategies focus on transplantation of neural stem cells or differentiated neural cells. In order to make such a treatment effective, it is important to understand the mechanisms that enable cell differentiation. It is well known that...

Fabrication of Two-photon Polymerized 2.5D and 3D Microstructures to Optimize Primary Microglia Cell Culture

Microglia, the resident macrophages of the central nervous system, are key players in neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. These cells represent promising cellular targets for therapeutic intervention, therefore a detailed cellular biological knowledge of microglia is of paramount importance....

3D-Engineered Scaffolds to Study Primary Glioblastoma Microtube Formation and EGFR Expression

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive and malignant brain tumor with no effective treatment available so far. A major obstacle in GBM research is the lack of reliable in vitro models that can mimic the tumor cellular environment. The goal of this study was to develop a 3D-engineered scaffold as a new cell culture model capable of providing a...

3D Engineered Glioblastoma Microenvironments for Proton Beam Irradiation

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a devastating cancer of the brain with an extremely poor prognosis. Novel <i>in-vitro</i> methods for the assessment of cancer response to drugs and radiation are being developed. Compared to two-dimensional cell culture, three-dimensional cellular microenvironments provide a model closer to the <i>in-vivo</i> situation. In...