A Promethean Construct: Formulation of a bioink with human donor-derived liver dECM & liver organoids

Liver diseases account for two million deaths worldwide each year, and current treatments are limited. 3D bioprinting is a promising technology, that has recently been investigated to tackle this challenge. However, the cells and hydrogels used for bioprinting are not human-derived and do not replicate the natural <i>in vivo</i> environment. The...

The Mechanical and Chemical Characterization of a 3D Printed Ear Implant

Design of a membrane for a lung-on-a-chip device: Design and testing of a membrane concept incorporating a dynamic pore size to study the alveolar-capillary barrier in vitro

In vitro models are fundamental in the study of cell behaviour, the physiological function of organs, and their response to drugs and toxins. However, the shortage of accurate and reliable in vitro models calls for the development of in vitro lung models that better recapitulate lung physiology and pathology. Lung-on- a-chip models are promising...

Multiscale 3D printed polymer probes for single cell experiments: A rapid prototyping method to fabricate microfluidic atomic force microscopy cantilevers for single cell studies

Facioscapulohumeral muscle dystrophy (FSHD) is the third most common muscle disease in the world. No cure has been found for FSHD, and current treatments focus on alleviating the symptoms. The disease is caused by a genetic error in 1/1000 - 1/200 of the nuclei in a multinucleated skeletal muscle cell. Studying that specific nucleus, by removing...

Further automation in pancreatic islet isolations

For patients with severe cases of type 1 diabetes mellitus, the standard treatment of exogenous insulin administration is not sufficient, and, therefore, are eligible for β-cell replacement therapies, such as pancreatic islet transplantations, to regain glycemic control. In order to transplant pancreatic islets, they first need to be separated...

The effect of scaffolds with a negative, zero, or positive Poisson’s ratio on pre-osteoblastic (MC3T3-E1) cell response

Bone tissue engineering (BTE) researches the characteristics which are needed to create the ultimate bone scaffold which enhances cell response. Limited research has been done regarding the effect of the Poisson’s ratio on the scaffold-cell interaction. In this graduation project we therefore explore the cell response on scaffolds with a...

A systematic study of macrophages’ response to submicron pillars

Objective: Advances in the field of biomaterials have positively affected implant acceptance and nowadays nanostructured surfaces are known to have a positive effect on bone regeneration. The development of the field of osteoimmunology has contributed to a steadily increasing interest towards the investigation of the immunomodulatory effect of...

Antibacterial coating for complex orthopedic metal implants

Prosthetic failure due to implant-associated infections remains a big problem, despite the extensive use of implants and number of researches performed on this topic. A new problem arises with the development of additively manufactured complex orthopedic metal implants. In spite of the advantages that come with patient specific implants to cure...