CELL-MATERIAL INTERACTIONS

Our focus is on the development and

optimization of synthetic carrier matrices

for tissue engineering, including the test-

ing of materials that contact biological

systems and the assessment of:

Cell-material interactions

Biocompatibility

Hemocompatibility

Small-volume synthetic vascular system

failure is often due to:

Thrombogenicity

Surface structures

of the utilized materials. To address these

issues, we create support matrices that

mimic the natural environment of the hu-

man body. Here, a blood vessel is lined

with a cell layer of endothelium. This layer

directly effects blood fluidity and coagula-

tion processes.

Our knowledge of the interactions bet-

ween cells and materials, as well as our

expertise in cell culture, enables us to

create synthetic vascular systems with a

comprehensive and functional endotheli-

um lining. To mimic the condition of the

body as realistically as possible, we design,

build and use bioreactors that create a

biomechanical stimulus that act upon 3D

bio-printed materials. With the help of

these systems, we can make initial state-

ments about the in vivo behavior of our

artificial vascular systems.

With our 15 years of experience on cell

culture, we are your performance partner

for complex questions on material-cell

interactions.

Fraunhofer Institute for

Interfacial Engineering and

Biotechnology IGB

Nobelstrasse12

70569 Stuttgart | Germany

Contact

Dr. Petra Kluger

Phone +49 711 970-4072

petra.kluger@igb.fraunhofer.de

www.igb.fraunhofer.de

1 Endothelial cells on biocompatible

materials.

2 Cell-material interaction.

3 Marker expression of the surface

protein CD31 of endothelial cells on

functionalized printable polymers.

1 2 3

F R A U N H O F E R I N S T I T U T E F O R I N T E R F A C I A L E N G I N E E R I N G A N D B I O T E C H N O L O G Y I G B

2

Primary cell culture

Another expertise is cell isolation from

different biopsy materials, as well as the

culture and co-culture of primary human

cells. For applications in vascular tissue

engineering, we use micro- and macro-

vascular endothelial cells from skin capillaries

and umbilical cord veins.

Cell-surface interaction assessment

Our knowledge of the interactions between

cells and materials gives us the ability to ex-

amine the influence of different biomaterial

chemical compositions and surface topo-

graphies on cells. Tailored to your product,

we can evaluate the following parameters:

Cell adhesion

Cell morphology

Cell viability

Cell-material interactions

Cell differentiation

Detection of released factors

(e.g. inflammatory mediators)

Hemocompatibility

Test systems and transplants

We are the specialists in the tissue engi-

neering field. In R&D, we develop, estab-

lish, and validate three-dimensional static

and dynamic test systems. The functionality

of the three-dimensional tissue constructs

are validated by histology, molecular and

cell biology and biochemical analysis of the

tissue and culture supernatants. The prod-

uct is then certified for transplantation in

our GMP facility.

Cytotoxicity testing

A material that is permanently in contact

with biological systems must be biocom-

patible. After years of experience in testing

biocompatibility and cytotoxicity, we have

become a well-established DIN EN ISO

10993-5 certification contractor. To verify

the biocompatibility of materials in vitro,

we not only utilize different cell lines (DIN

EN ISO 10993-5), we also use primary cells

of different tissues and three-dimensional

test systems with organ-specific properties.

Our 3D skin model was one the first 3D

models to be DIN EN ISO 10993-5 accredited.

Bioreactor technology

For successful tissue engineering of organs

and tissues, it is essential to maintain the

function of tissue-specific cells in vitro. For

this purpose, we simulate the in vivo mi-

croenvironment of the cells in application-

specific computer-assisted bioreactors. Us-

ing these systems we can expose artificial

tissue-specific mechanical stresses such

as shear, rotation, stretch, train or pulsa-

tion. The external influences play an im-

portant role in the development of bioarti-

ficial tissue.

Services

Primary cell culture

Selection and enrichment of cells

Assessment of cell-material

interactions

3D tissue models

GMP production of transplants

Cytotoxicity testing according to

DIN EN ISO 10993-5

Bioreactors for tissue engineering

4 Bioreactor for the culture of artificial

blood vessels.

5 Artificial blood vessel made of a

printable polymer.

6 Cytotoxicity testing according to DIN

EN ISO 10993-5.

4 5 6