Tissue Engineering
ElastoSens™ Bio Applications
Tissue engineering has emerged from the need for alternative grafts to auto or allo-transplantation. Engineered tissues have been developed using biomaterials and cells to mimic the properties of the damaged tissue with the ultimate purpose of repairing or replacing it.
The mechanical properties of engineered tissues evolve with time since cells are able to degrade the initial biomaterial (their scaffold) and produce ECM proteins. Collagen, gelatin, chitosan, alginate, fibrin, agarose, PEG, PLGA, PCL are among the most popular hydrogel biomaterials.
Due to their soft nature and complex preparation, measuring the viscoelasticity of engineered tissues is challenging and monitoring their changes during culture time is not often possible.
Applications on Tissue Engineering
The mechanical characterization of biological soft membranes such as skin, pericardium, or hydrogel-based samples is challenging and often results in sample damage. The Membrane Sample Holder of the ElastoSens™ Bio has been designed for facilitating the loading and the handling of membrane samples allowing proper mechanical testing. In this study, the elasticity of bovine pericardium membranes were precisely measured using the ElastoSens™ Bio...
The field of regenerative medicine comprises different strategies to replace or restore diseased and damaged tissues and organs. It includes tissue-engineered products that rely on the combination of biomaterials, cells and inductive biomolecules to promote tissue and organ regeneration.
All cells in the human body are exposed to mechanical forces which regulate cell function and tissue development, and each cell type is specifically adapted to the mechanical properties of the tissue it resides in. The matrix properties of human tissues can also change with disease and in turn facilitate its progression.
Cellularized hydrogels have been widely investigated for producing in vitro models of tissues such as skin, blood vessels, bone, etc. These models can be a valuable alternative to animal models used in trials for studying physio/pathological processes and for testing new drugs and medical devices.
Mechanical Testing for Tissue Engineering
We have designed the ElastoSens™ Bio to answer these needs. The instrument tests the viscoelasticity of cellularized scaffolds by applying gentle vibrations to the sample and measuring with no contact its response to the mechanical stimulus. The cellularized scaffold is contained in a detachable sample holder and the whole system can be inserted in a biological hood for testing under sterile conditions. The sample holder containing the engineered tissue can be placed in the incubator and retested multiple times during culture time. At each time point, the instrument measures and displays the current storage (G’) and loss (G’’) shear modulus of the evolving cellularized scaffold.
In this example, keratinocytes laden gelatin samples were tested during 14 days of culture using the ElastoSens™ Bio. The gels were prepared at concentrations of 10 %, 15 % and 20 % (w/w%) of gelatin. The higher concentration of gelatin led to a mechanically stable construct whereas a significant degradation was observed for the other two conditions.
Benefits of Contact-Free, Non-Invasive Measurements with the Elastosens™ Bio
- Test non-destructively the viscoelastic properties of bulk hydrogels, 3D bioprinted scaffolds and 3D cell-laden hydrogels.
- Apply programmable thermo and photo (UV) stimulations to deeply analyze your material.
- Follow the evolution of the same sample from formation to degradation non-destructively and over long periods of time.
- Get advanced and personalized Soft Matter Analytics™.
- Accelerate your formulation process while improving repeatability.
- Test bioengineered tissues in a cell-friendly and sterile environment.
- Operate a truly easy-to-use instrument designed for biologists, chemists and material scientists.
- Save time and material for R&D and QC operations.
- Customize your own testing system with up to 5 instruments thanks to the modularity of the ElastoSens™ Bio.
- Optimize your investments with affordable instruments that fit your needs and budget.