The Analysis of Plant Vasculature for Tissue Engineering Applications

Presenter

Dora Eng-Wu

Campus

UMass Amherst

Sponsor

Shelly Peyton, Department of Chemical Engineering, UMass Amherst

Schedule

Session 2, 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A67, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 4 (A61-A80) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

Utilizing plants as a biomaterial for tissue engineering offers a potential solution for the organ donor shortage. Plants are abundant, cost effective, possess many physical properties including a cell wall, and are reproducible. This makes their structural integrity suitable for growing artificial tissues. Through decellularization protocols that I developed in the Peyton lab, including perfusion and cannulation, plant material can be flushed of their cellular components while keeping the extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and structure, leaving behind a scaffold that can be used in combination with human cells. Once plant material was decellularized, I further developed and tested several approaches to treat the remaining plant ECM scaffold with proteins and human cells, advancing to a fully engineered tissue. 

Vasculature, or the vessels that bring blood, oxygen, and nutrients to cells within tissues, is a critical factor in determining the type of tissue one could develop using plants as a starting material. I examined the transverse and longitudinal cuts of plants, which gives insight into understanding the mechanical properties a particular tissue could withstand when seeded with cells and eventually used as a fully engineered tissue. I separately examined the vasculature of leaves from basil, eggplant, and brussels sprouts. Results from experimenting on these plants demonstrate that cells are able to grow on these scaffolds, and vasculature can be profiled to current tissues within the human body. As this field continues to progress, the development of an artificial organ using plant scaffolds lies within the near future.

Keywords

Tissue Engineering, Plant Scaffolds, Decellularization Techniques, Sustainable

Research Area

Engineering

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