Optimisation of Synthesis Parameters of Microbubble-Assisted Scaffolds
Ravikumar, Aswathi (2025)
2025
Master's Programme in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering
Lääketieteen ja terveysteknologian tiedekunta - Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2025-11-20
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2025111710679
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2025111710679
Tiivistelmä
Scaffolds in would healing tissue engineering with uniform pore structure enhances cell migration, attachment and proliferation to the wound site compared to scaffolds with non-uniform pore size and distribution. Conventional methods of porous scaffold fabrication have various drawbacks and are unable to produce scaffolds with uniform pores in a simplified manner. Moreover, 3D bioprinting which has been found to be successful in producing scaffolds with uniform pores during the recent years, is deemed to be currently expensive in high throughput situations. Synthesising microbubble-assisted scaffolds using Microfluidic T-junction device is being investigated as a cost effective and simple method to produce porous scaffolds.
Microbubbles act as a sacrificial porogen template to form scaffolds with uniform pores. This study explores this method using natural biopolymers gelatin, chitosan and alginate in varying combinations. Gelatin comprises amino acid sequences that support cell adhesion; chitosan possesses antibacterial properties and provides structural integrity to the scaffold; alginate is a bioinert compound that provides structural support in combination with gelatin. These material properties are combined to enhance the overall properties of the scaffolds.
The aim was to establish and optimise the parameters for synthesising microbubbles using the natural biopolymer formulations and to evaluate the cell viability and cell morphology of the resulting scaffolds. ASCs (Adipose-derived Stem Cells) were chosen for this study.
This study provided insights into the flow rates, gas pressures and the T-junction microfluidic setup to produce monodisperse or uniform microbubbles. The findings showed that microbubble-assisted scaffolds fabricated using gelatin-chitosan formulations exhibited more cell attachment and proliferation as compared to gelatin-alginate formulations. The parameters of microbubble synthesis were evaluated but require further investigations for optimization of the uniformity of the microbubbles.
Microbubbles act as a sacrificial porogen template to form scaffolds with uniform pores. This study explores this method using natural biopolymers gelatin, chitosan and alginate in varying combinations. Gelatin comprises amino acid sequences that support cell adhesion; chitosan possesses antibacterial properties and provides structural integrity to the scaffold; alginate is a bioinert compound that provides structural support in combination with gelatin. These material properties are combined to enhance the overall properties of the scaffolds.
The aim was to establish and optimise the parameters for synthesising microbubbles using the natural biopolymer formulations and to evaluate the cell viability and cell morphology of the resulting scaffolds. ASCs (Adipose-derived Stem Cells) were chosen for this study.
This study provided insights into the flow rates, gas pressures and the T-junction microfluidic setup to produce monodisperse or uniform microbubbles. The findings showed that microbubble-assisted scaffolds fabricated using gelatin-chitosan formulations exhibited more cell attachment and proliferation as compared to gelatin-alginate formulations. The parameters of microbubble synthesis were evaluated but require further investigations for optimization of the uniformity of the microbubbles.