Category: Students

Bruce Lee (BioMed) published a paper titled “Iron Magnetic Nanoparticle-Induced ROS Generation from Catechol-Containing Microgel for Environmental and Biomedical Applications” in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

The coauthors are graduate student Zhongtian Zhang (BioMed), undergraduate student Max Reaume (BioMed), postdoctoral researcher Bo Liu (BioMed) and collaborators Chao Zhou and Min Wu from Changzhou University and Guangdong University of Technology, respectively.

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.9b19726

This article is part of the Advances in Biocidal Materials and Interfaces special issue.

Extract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can degrade organic compounds and function as a broad-spectrum disinfectant. Here, dopamine methacrylamide (DMA) was used to prepare catechol-containing microgels, which can release ROS via metal-catechol interaction. A combination of the microgel and iron magnetic nanoparticle (FeMNP) significantly reduced the concentration of four organic dyes (Alizarin Red S, Rhodamine B, Crystal Violet, and Malachite Green) and an antibiotic drug, ciprofloxacin, dissolved in solution.

Additionally, catechol chelates heavy metal ions, resulting in their removal from solution and repurposed these metal ions for dye degradation.

This multifunctional microgel can potentially be used for environmental applications for the removal of organic pollutants and heavy metal ions from wastewater, as well as reducing bacterial infection in biomedical applications.

Bruce Lee (BioMed), Rupak Rajachar (BioMed), Ameya Narkar, Ariana Tyo and Saleh Akram attended the 42 Annual Meeting of the Adhesion Society in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Lee served as the chair of the Bioadhesion Division within the Adhesion Society and was one of the organizers in the meeting. Rajachar chaired two sessions entitled “Interfaces in Pharmaceutical Sciences” and “Bioadhesive Chemistry.”

Narkar gave an oral presentation entitled “Evaluating Rapid Switching and Reversible Adhesion of Adhesive Hydrogel-Coated PDMS Micropillars,” a project directed by Lee. Narkar also co-chaired a session entitled “Bioadhesive Chemistry.”

Tyo gave an oral presentation entitled “Optimizing of Two-Step Adhesive Coating for the Mitigation of Field Associated Infection in Cetacean Satellite Telemetry Tags,” a project directed by Rajachar.

Akram gave an oral presentation entitled “Controlling Redox Reaction of Conductive Smart Catechol Adhesive using Electrochemistry,” a project directed by Lee.

The meeting took place February 17-20, 2019.

Feng Zhao (Bio Med/LSTI) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $310,000 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation. This is a three-year project.

Anisotropic Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Patch with Oriented Vasculature

ABSTRACT

Replacement of diseased tissue requires that the implanted material not only have the proper mechanical strength, but it must also have a functioning blood distribution network (vasculature; veins, capillaries), and these are often difficult to manufacture. This project will seek to understand and mimic the structure and vasculature of three-dimensional (3D) cardiac tissue. The goal is to engineer a mechanically strong and functional cell patch for the regeneration of damaged heart tissue.

The proposed research will also provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as underrepresented community college students, to be involved in interdisciplinary stem cell and tissue engineering research. In addition, a series of seminars will be hosted to increase stem cell and tissue engineering awareness among the health community and public in the UP (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan.

The overall objective of the project is to create aligned nanofibrous natural extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds for the biofabrication of a prevascularized anisotropic stem cell patch and elucidate the mechanism of microvessel orientation within the in vivo microenvironment. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are immunoregulatory, regenerative, effective in promoting myocardial regeneration, and function as pericytes to stabilize the microvessels formed by endothelial cells (ECs). These unique properties enable hMSCs to combine with ECM scaffolds and ECs to biofabricate an off-the-shelf or patient-specific prevascularized patch, in which hMSCs will play a dual role of stabilizing vasculature formed by ECs in vitro and orchestrating the regeneration of dead cardiac tissue after implantation. In this project, hMSCs will be co-cultured with ECs in a nanofibrous ECM scaffold to form an aligned capillary-like vasculature, and the effects of aligned nanofibers on the density, orientation and maturation of the microvessels will be investigated. The prevascularized hMSC sheets will be multi-layered and further matured in a perfusion bioreactor, and the role of physiological interstitial flow on the inter-connections, alignment and maturation of the existing microvessels within the 3D biomimetic tissue platform will be evaluated. If successful, this project could lead to the development of personalized or off-the-shelf cardiac tissue patches that could dramatically increase the success rate for the treatment of dead cardiac muscle associated with heart attacks.

Bruce Lee (Bio Med), Yuan Liu and Weilue He attended the 40th Annual Meeting of the Adhesion Society Feb. 26 through March 1, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Lee chaired a session entitled “Bioadhesive Chemistry” and was elected vice chair of the Bioadhesion Division within the Adhesion Society. Lee will serve as the chair of the division in the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Adhesion Society in 2019.

Liu gave an oral presentation entitled “Moldable Nanocomposite PEG Hydrogel Formed by Mussel-Inspired Chemistry as Fit-to-Shape Sealant.”

He gave an oral presentation entitled “Development of a Novel Fibrin-polydopamine Adhesive Hydrogel for Marine Tracking and Wound Healing Applications,” a project directed by Rupak Rajachar (Bio Med).

Materialise, a corporate blog, published an article about 3-D printed orthopaedic casts designed by a team from Michigan Tech to conform to the individual needs of each patient’s fracture.

From Tech Today.

Could 3D Printing Provide an Alternative to Plaster Casts?

Anyone who has ever had a broken arm, sprained ankle or anything that requires wearing a cast undoubtedly remembers how uncomfortable it was. Sure, it was fun to get everyone’s signature on your arm or leg, but that didn’t make up for the itchiness, the rash and the difficulties involved when taking a shower. A bright team of engineers at Michigan Technological University thought there had to be a better solution, and came up with a lightweight, porous, 3D-printed alternative instead.

Dr. Jingfeng Jiang, leader of the project, commented: “The Lightweight Structures Module enabled us to rapidly design and create prototypes of these orthopaedic casts given any patient-specific wrist geometry. Furthermore, the software allowed us to export the virtual design directly to ANSYS for FEA analysis, so that we could make sure the model was strong enough to withstand different loading conditions.”

Read more at Materialise, by Stephanie Benoit.