| AVS 54th International Symposium | |
| Biomaterial Interfaces | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session BI-WeM |
| Session: | Nano-Engineered Biointerfaces |
| Presenter: | T.P. Beebe, Jr., Univ. of Delaware |
| Authors: | W.M. Theilacker, Univ. of Delaware M.E. Boggs, Univ. of Delaware S.K. Mbugua, Univ. of Delaware S.P. Sullivan, Univ. of Delaware D.E. Willis, Nemours Biomedical Res. of Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children K.W. Dabney, Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children J.L. Twiss, Nemours Biomedical Res. of Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children T.P. Beebe, Jr., Univ. of Delaware |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
This paper will present the recent results from a collaborative study that is aimed at developing novel growth-promoting substrates for injured and damaged neurons, with an emphasis on understanding the mechanisms of substrate-neuron interactions and the resulting modulation of intra-axonal signal transduction. Axons regenerating in vivo must traverse from a permissive into a non-permissive environment. We use the permissive environment of novel surface-grafted 2-D and 3-D materials to increase the capacity for axons to traverse into a non-permissive growth environment. We have generated novel patterned and well characterized 2-D and 3-D biomaterial growth substrates that mimic the environment encountered by the regenerating axons in the injured spinal cord. This is accomplished by engineered patterns and gradients with tailored composition of growth-promoting extracellular matrix molecules. We will also describe the results of studies aimed to observe and mimic how permissive growth substrates directly modulate axonal-substrate interactions and intra-axonal signal transduction. The program incorporates elements of surface chemistry, surface analysis, cell culture, optical microscopy, and neuroscience.