| KEYWORD |
Area Engineering
Smart multi-component delivery systems for the advanced treatment of hard-to-heal skin wounds
keywords WOUND HEALING, POLYURETHANES, INORGANIC POWDER,
Reference persons GIANLUCA CIARDELLI, ROSSELLA LAURANO, JACOPO SECCO
Research Groups 05-Bioingegneria Industriale
Description The development of advanced treatments able to effectively interact with the wound bed environment and promote the regeneration of hard-to-heal skin wounds is still considered a challenging aspect. Thus, great effort is required from the research community to fill this gap through the engineering of innovative and ground-breaking formulations with proved capability in overcoming the deadlock phase of chronic skin wounds.
In this context, by exploiting an interdisciplinary approach gathering the Politecnico di Torino and two national and international companies (Omnidermal Biomedics (Italy) and FROXIMUN AG (Germany)), we are developing a smart drug delivery system able to encapsulate an inorganic powder as therapeutic agent and control its release through a wound-triggered stimulus (i.e., the alkalinity of infected wound exudate). The gelling system will be based on amphiphilic poly(ether urethane)s functionalized through green approaches to make them responsive to alkaline environments, while the inorganic powder will be produced from a particular type of stones and it will be provided by FROXIMUN AG. The resultant multi-component formulation will successfully enhance the healing of damaged tissues by further improving the already assessed beneficial effects of the inorganic powder through its controlled release in the wound bed. System properties will be first studied through traditional in vitro tests (e.g., drug release tests and 2D and 3D cytocompatibility and proliferative assays); then, innovative approaches to monitor tissue regeneration in vitro wound models will be developed relying on Omnidermal Biomedics technology.
In the framework of this project, the proposed master’s thesis work will be initially focused on the investigation of the inorganic powder properties through cell viability and proliferation assays performed on 2D cultures of fibroblasts and keratinocytes. Then, the immunological response induced by the powder will be in vitro studied on M0 and M1-activated macrophages. Subsequently, the inorganic powder will be encapsulated in polyurethane hydrogels and drug release tests will be conducted in contact with buffers at different pH values. Lastly, powder-enriched extracts will be tested on a 3D in vitro wound model to study the overall effects induced by the engineered formulation in a more reliable environment.
Locations and duration: Biomedical Lab di Alessandria (90%)/Omnidermal Biomedics (Turin, 10%), April 2024 – December 2024
See also proposta tesi_progetto manc.pdf
Notes Requisite: max. 2 exams left
Deadline 08/03/2025
PROPONI LA TUA CANDIDATURA