Tissue Engineering

Research and Practice of Colloids in Tissue Engineering

Colloidal particles can be used as additives to enhance the mechanical properties of hydrogels. It was found that adding acetyl-functionalized inorganic colloidal silica particles to the hydrogel network can effectively enhance the mechanical toughness of the hydrogel. More importantly, the presence of colloidal particles will generate more porous networks, which allow the hydrogel system to better mimic the natural microstructural environment.

Colloids can also be used as cell mimics to study fundamental questions about cell-cell interactions and complex tissue-level systems. For example, emulsion colloids can be used as cell surrogates to study the mechanism of cadherin intercellular adhesion junctions; colloidal assembly systems can be used as tools to observe more complex polymer-colloid flow patterns.

Fig.1 Colloidal particles as cell mimics.[1]

Colloids can also play a variety of roles in tissue engineering. Surface-functionalized colloidal particles can better recapitulate cellular niches and add biologically relevant viscoelasticity to tissue engineered systems. In addition, colloidal particles can sequester and release growth factors in tissues. In conclusion, the excellent chemical modulation capability of colloidal systems enables them to provide additional functional advantages to current tissue engineering strategies.

Fig.2 Cartoon representation of a colloid-modified ECM mimic.^[1]

Alfa Chemistry uses colloids as a tool for developing truly dynamic and functional tissue engineering materials. We can not only provide a variety of colloidal products suitable for tissue engineering research, but also carry out secondary processing of products based on modification technology, and increase the complexity of tissue engineering systems by modifying the physical and biochemical properties of colloidal materials. Our colloidal tissue engineering strategy has important implications for research, clinical applications, and therapy in the life sciences.

What Can We Do?

• Alfa Chemistry can provide or customize a variety of colloidal products for tissue engineering applications.
• Alfa Chemistry can provide technical means for studying the mechanism of colloidal materials in tissue engineering systems.
• Alfa Chemistry can design and develop strategies for incorporating colloidal materials as tools into tissue engineering systems according to the needs provided by customers.

Reference

1. Clarke K C, et al. Colloid-matrix assemblies in regenerative medicine. Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science. 2013, 18(5):393-405.

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