James Lapworth (PhD student 2005-2008)
Smart polymers for use in cell culture of human chondrocytes
Aims: To develop novel thermo responsive materials for use as cell culture substrates or scaffolds for tissue engineering.
The availability of suitable cells is potentially a limiting factor for cartilage tissue engineering. Existing cell and tissue culture techniques involve the expansion of cells on a modified polystyrene surface and the use of animal derived products in cell recovery.
A thermo responsive material, which undergoes a large physical change in response to a small change in temperature, may be useful as an alternative method of cell recovery, and may be suitable for culturing cells in a 3D environment.
In this project, candidate materials based on the thermo responsive polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) are prepared and characterised in the Department of Chemistry before assessing their suitability as surfaces or scaffolds for cell culture.
Supervisor(s): Dr Steve Rimmer (Department of Chemistry) and Prof Paul Hatton