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I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e o n
Metal, Mining and
Magnetic Materials
Journal of Material Sciences
ISSN: 2321-6212
N o v e m b e r 0 1 - 0 2 , 2 0 1 8
P a r i s , F r a n c e
Metal and Magnetism 2018
Page 23
L De Laporte et al., J Mat. Sci. 2018, Volume:6
DOI: 10.4172/2321-6212-C7-032
W
e have developed the Anisogel, which is a hybrid hydrogel that can be
injected in soft tissues to provide unidirectional guidance. Rod-shaped
microgels and short fibers are rendered magnetic by incorporating low
concentrations of iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and align in magnetic
fields in the millitesla range. The anisometric elements are fabricated
with variable dimensions, aspect ratio, stiffness, and SPION amount. After
alignment, surrounding pre-polymer solutions can crosslink into a network to fix
the position of the elements after removal of the magnetic field. To understand
the physical mechanisms behind the ordering of the soft magnetic elements,
experimental data is compared with a model based on the magnetic rotation
of an ellipsoidal element dispersed in a Newtonian fluid. This enables us to
predict the orientation state and alignment time of the microgels, depending
on their design parameters, and the viscosity of the surrounding fluid. When
mixed with cells and nerves, the cells align and grow in a linear manner and the
fibronectin produced by fibroblasts is also oriented. RGD modification of the
microgels further improves the orientation of the cells but significantly reduces
fibronectin production. The mechano-sensitive protein yes-associated protein
(YAP) shuttles to the nucleus due to the mechanical anisotropy of the Anisogel.
Regenerated nerves are functional with spontaneous activity and electrical
signals propagating along the anisotropy axis of the material
Biography
L De Laporte has graduated from the University of Ghent as
a Chemical Engineer. She obtained her PhD at Northwestern
University in the laboratory of Lonnie Shea, where she focused
onthedevelopmentofscaffoldsforspinalcordrepair.Duringher
Postdoc at EPFL, Switzerland, she worked with Jeffrey Hubbell
in the field of regenerative hydrogels and protein engineering.
In 2015, she received an ERC Starting Grant to develop the
Anisogel, which is an injectable hybrid hydrogel that orients
in
situ
to direct cell and nerve growth. Recently, she was awarded
with the Leibniz Professorinnen Program, for which she now
has a joined position between the DWI–Leibniz Institute for
Interactive Materials and the RWTH Aachen, Germany. At DWI,
she coordinates the Bioactive and Bioinstructive Materials
Research Program. In her research group, synthetic biomaterial
constructs are designed for tissue regenerative purposes.
delaporte@dwi.rwth-aachen.deMagnetic microgel assemblies for injectable soft biocomposites
L De Laporte
1
, J Rose
1
, Lukas Kivilip
2
, D Gehlen
2
, A Omidinia
2
,
C Licht
2
and W Rohlfs
2
1
DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials e V, Germany
2
RWTH Aachen University-Institute of Heat and Mass Transfer (WSA), Germany