Tissue engineered blood vessels have the potential to address a clinical need for blood vessel replacements. The Rolle lab at WPI developed a method for growing smooth muscle cell tissue rings and then fusing these rings together to form tubular vessel replacements. The goal of this project is to exert control over the aggregation process of the SMCs used to form the ring. An adhesion system consisting of gelatin microparticles was designed to improve aggregation of the SMCs into ring constructs. Testing showed that the gelatin microparticles can be consistently created at an appropriate size and these particles do not harm the SMCs when cultured together. Subsequent tests showed that the microparticles did not inhibit the aggregation speed of the tissue rings.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Abbate, Emily Elizabeth
• O'Brien, Catherine Hannah
• Folta, Cailin Mckenzie
• Norton, Erica Jane

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-042512-122415

Advisor

• Rolle, Marsha Whitney

Year

• 2012

Date created

• 2012-04-25

Location

• Worcester

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Biomedical Engineering

Rights statement

• In Copyright

Last modified

• 2021-02-02