Folding artificial mucosa with cell-laden hydrogels guided by mechanics models

Abstract

While mucosal folding is a ubiquitous phenomenon observed in many hollow or tubular human tissues/organs, recapitulating the process for tissue engineering has yet to be achieved. Here we fold a cell-laden hydrogel film to recapitulate the folding of a physiologically mimicking artificial mucosa. We attach the cell-laden hydrogel film onto a prestretched tough-hydrogel substrate, which after relaxation induces controlled patterns in the artificial mucosa. A combination of theory and numerical simulations predicts the folding conditions and the morphologies, thereby guiding the design of surface folding. This simple strategy can facilitate the understanding and engineering of mucosa for tissues/organs such as stomach, colon, and intestine. The work also demonstrates a paradigm in tissue engineering via harnessing mechanical instabilities guided by quantitative mechanics models.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jul 02, 2018
Source ID
10.1073/pnas.1802361115

Entities

People

  • German A. Parada
  • Hon Fai Chan
  • Hu Meng
  • Kam W. Leong
  • Linda Griffith
  • Ruike Zhao
  • Xuanhe Zhao

Organizations

  • Columbia University
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • National Science Board
  • Office of Naval Research
  • Ohio State University
  • The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics/Aeronautics.
  • Materials Science.
  • Trauma Surgery or Emergency Medicine.