Project Details

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Ex-Utero: Designing a Living System for In-Vitro Tissue Engineering

Company: PSU Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and College of Arts and Architecture

Major(s):
Primary: BME
Secondary: ME
Optional: MATSE

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Overview: The placenta is an understudied and invaluable biological resource that shows great promise in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering research. As a largely discarded tissue rich in extracellular matrix (ECM), the placenta is an excellent candidate for biological scaffolds in reconstructive medicine. We aim to decellularize the entire placenta and seed the extracellular matrices with foreign cell lines. In this initial phase of the project, the goal is to produce a prototype to decellularize, and ideally, reseed, a small section of the umbilical cord. The decellularization process removes all the cellular components, resulting in a biomaterial scaffold for tissue regeneration. This groundbreaking research aims to eliminate the risk of immune rejection and shows great promise for the future of organ transplantation. The placenta, along with the umbilical cord, are central to advances in regenerative medicine with widespread applications in wound healing, ophthalmology, skin grafts, breast reconstruction, and more. "Ex-Utero" is an artistic and scientific inquiry into the future of human reproduction and probes the biological and sociopolitical possibilities of ectogenesis, the development of the embryo outside the uterus. In the foreseeable future, artificial wombs may support life ex-vivo, and the placenta, a critical gestational organ, will become obsolete. Deliverables: • Design of a portable system to: - decellularize a section of umbilical cord via the vascular network of the umbilical cord through perfusion and diffusion - reseed the ECM with living cells - sustain and support the viability of the reseeded cells • Initial Prototype • Functionality testing • Final Prototype • Instruction manual that includes: - a materials and parts list and suppliers - a schematic diagram of the design and construction - assembly instructions - disassembly instructions - troubleshooting guide • Summary report of final design • Final report and presentation