Project Details
[Return to Previous Page]Ex-Utero: Designing a Living System for In-Vitro Tissue Engineering
Company: PSU College of Arts and Architecture
Major(s):
Primary: BME
Secondary: ME
Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO
Intellectual Property: NO
Project Overview: The umbilical cord and placenta are understudied and invaluable biological resources that show great promise in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering research. As a largely discarded tissue rich in extracellular matrix (ECM), the cord and placenta are excellent candidates for biological scaffolds in reconstructive medicine. We aim to decellularize the entire placenta and cord, and seed the extracellular matrices with foreign cell lines. In this second phase of the project, the goal is to produce a prototype of a bioreactor to decellularize and recellularize 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. Objectives: The objective of this project is to design a portable and reusable perfusion system to deliver decellularization solutions via the vascular network of the umbilical cord. Using a dynamic perfusion approach to deliver solutions through the cord’s vascular network, the project aims to preserve the tissue’s structure while preparing it for successful recellularization with living cells, pushing the frontiers of regenerative medicine. Deliverables: 1. Design of a portable and reusable system to: -decellularize a section of umbilical cord via the vascular network of the umbilical cord through perfusion and diffusion -recellularize the ECM with living cells -sustain and support the viability of the recellularized cells 2. Initial Prototype 3. Functionality, repeatability, and reproducibility testing 4. Final Prototype 5. Instruction manual that includes: -a materials and consumables list with suppliers -a schematic diagram of the design and construction -decellularization protocol -recellularization protocol -protocol to sustain the viability of the recellularized cells 6. Presentation and demonstration 7. Final technical report, poster, and one-page summary report
