Sena Harmancı

PhD student

 

Bioactive glass incorporated hierarchical scaffolds for soft tissue engineering applications

 

Supervisor: Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini

Nanofibers are frequently used in tissue engineering applications due to their similarity to the natural ECM, providing an ideal microenvironment for cell adhesion, proliferation, migration, and differentiation [1]. However, recently, multilayer nanofibers forming hierarchical structures have gained interest in order to obtain improved scaffolds with optimised delivery capability. Multilayer nanofibers are made up of different layers and each layer can be produced separately with specific features. Functionalized molecules, bioactive glasses, or drugs can be integrated providing enhanced wound healing management. Borate bioactive glasses (BBGs) have gained attention in soft tissue healing, using the advantage of the therapeutic effects of released ions [2, 3]. BBGs can promote cell proliferation and haemostasis. Also, boron ions released from BBGs can stimulate angiogenesis and vascularization [3, 4]. The aim of the project is to fabricate multi-layered, hierarchical fibrous structures with improved performance during the wound healing process by the smart combiation of polymers and BBGs. This project is funded by a scholarship of the Turkish Ministry of Education (MEB).

[1] Augustine, R.; Rehman, S.R.U.; Ahmed, R.; Zahid, A.A.; Sharifi, M.; Falahati, M.; Hasan, A. Electrospun Chitosan Membranes Containing Bioactive and Therapeutic Agents for Enhanced Wound Healing. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 2020, 156, 153–170, doi:10.1016/J.IJBIOMAC.2020.03.207.

[2] Mehrabi, T.; Mesgar, A.S. In Vitro Biomineralization Potential in Simulated Wound Fluid and Antibacterial Efficacy of Biologically-Active Glass Nanoparticles Containing B2O3/ZnO. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces 2022, 212, 112338, doi:10.1016/J.COLSURFB.2022.112338.

[3] Ege, D., et al., Borate Bioactive Glasses (BBG): Bone Regeneration, Wound Healing Applications, and Future Directions, ACS Appl. Bio Mater. 2022, 5, 8, 3608–3622

[4] Schuhladen, K.; Raghu, S.N.V.; Liverani, L.; Neščáková, Z.; Boccaccini, A.R. Production of a Novel Poly(ɛ-Caprolactone)-Methylcellulose Electrospun Wound Dressing by Incorporating Bioactive Glass and Manuka Honey. Journal of Biomedical Materials and Research Part B Applied Biomaterials 2021, 109, 180–192, doi:10.1002/JBM.B.34690.