E-Thesis 233 views 119 downloads
The development of innervative biomaterials for skeletal tissue regeneration / INES SANTOS
Swansea University Author: INES SANTOS
Abstract
Innervation is a vital physiological process enabling communication between bodily functions and the central nerve system (CNS). It is expected that innervation plays an important role in tissue regeneration. However, there is a significant knowledge gap on the innervative capacity of synthetic biom...
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Swansea
2025
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Master of Research |
| Degree name: | MSc by Research |
| Supervisor: | Xia, Z. and Davies, J. |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70696 |
| Abstract: |
Innervation is a vital physiological process enabling communication between bodily functions and the central nerve system (CNS). It is expected that innervation plays an important role in tissue regeneration. However, there is a significant knowledge gap on the innervative capacity of synthetic biomaterials for the purposes for skeletal tissue engineering. This study aimed to investigate the innervation potential and improvement of the regenerative capacity of a biomaterial composed of hydroxyapatite/aragonite (HAA). Three main objectives were explored:1) To assess whether HAA exhibits toxicity with HUMSCs and ReNcells through Alamar Blue assays and live cell imaging, 2) To determine the capacity of HAA to support neuronal growth and proliferation, and 3) To investigate the potential of HAA to enhance bone regeneration in an in vivo femoral-defect rat model. Following material preparation and characterization, HAA was tested in vitro using a co-culture of ReNcells and HUMSC where cell morphology, proliferation, and differentiation were monitored. HAA scaffolds were implanted into in vivo models, where they promoted bone regeneration by increasing bone callus formation, quantified via microCT scanning. The results indicate that HAA is non-toxic towards the co-culture. Through immunofluorescence and live cell imaging, we observed that ReNcells within the co-cultured showed consistent growth and proliferation through the first 7 days and successfully differentiated into matured neurons by day 14. The addition of HAA to the in vivo model showed a significant reduction in fracture gap width relative to the untreated. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate the potential to produce an innervative biomaterial for skeletal tissue engineering, offering a promising approach for skeletal tissue regeneration. Future research should aim to optimize cell deposition onto HAA by refining the fabrication methods to produce more uniform scaffold structures, applying techniques to quantify neuronal differentiation markers will also be essential to further clarify HAA’s innervative capacity. |
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| Keywords: |
hydroxyapatite/aragonite, HAA, skeletal tissue regeneration, biomaterials, bone innervation |
| College: |
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences |