Experimental Continuum MechanicsOpen OpportunitiesDuring pregnancy, the skin around the womb gets continuously stretched. The thickest layer of this skin, is the dermis, which consists mainly of collagen and fibroblasts. An established model of the dermis is the 3D culture of fibroblasts in collagen hydrogels. To now mimic the load situation of skin during pregnancy, a creep setup shall be established based on existing bioreactor systems (Wahlsten & Rütsche et al., 2022). The goal is to expose the cells in their viscoelastic matrix to a constant pressure followed by a tension-release. Observing the response of the cells to these mechanical stimuli over time will give new insights into the mechanobiology of skin cells. - Engineering and Technology, Medical and Health Sciences
- Master Thesis, Semester Project
| Skin is a multilayer tissue. The biggest layer of the human skin, the dermal layer, consists mainly of collagen and fibroblasts (skin cells). An established model of the dermis is the 3D culture of fibroblasts in collagen hydrogels. Stimulating these fibroblasts by applying equibiaxial strain to the gels has been shown to significantly enhance the cell’s proliferation (Wahlsten & Rütsche et al., 2022). These findings are of high importance for tissue engineering, but also highlight the need to study the mechanobiological response of fibroblasts to mechanical stimuli more in detail. Therefore, a 2D fibroblast cell culture system shall be established enabling to physiologically strain cells grown on a soft substrate. - Biology, Engineering and Technology, Medical and Health Sciences
- Master Thesis, Semester Project
| Skin is a multilayer tissue. The biggest layer of the human skin, the dermal layer, consists mainly of collagen and fibroblasts.
For applications like skin substitutes as chronic wound treatments, 3D cultures of fibroblasts have been developed. As shown in the figure attached, it was presented that human Dermal Fibroblasts cultured in 3D collagen hydrogels show an enhanced proliferation (increase in cell number by cell division) when exposed to mechanical stimulation in the form of cyclic strain (Wahlsten & Rütsche et al., 2022). This desired effect often comes with the downside of apoptosis (cell death), highlighting the need for a time-lapsed simultaneous study of proliferation and apoptosis in dynamic 3D culture of fibroblasts. - Biology, Engineering and Technology, Medical and Health Sciences
- Master Thesis, Semester Project
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