TheraMatrix · Development of functional, chemically defined coatings for 2D and 3D cell culture applications
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2021-07-01 → 2023-06-30
- EU contribution
- €162,806
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Development of functional, chemically defined coatings for 2D and 3D cell culture applications
Stem cells have the capacity to self-renew and differentiate, which is important for the growth and maintenance of tissues and organs. Thereby, stem cells hold a fundamental promise to advance regenerative medicine, cell therapies as well as cellular agriculture. One of the major challenges of cell-based industries is the production of stem cells at industrial scale. The established cultivation methods in 2-dimensional cell culture articles are not feasible to meet the needs. The cultivation of cells in bioreactors on 3-dimensional (3D) scaffolds/microcarriers is the inevitable future strategy. Currently, there is only a limited number of scaffolds/microcarriers and some of them do not fulfil the performance or safety criteria for stem cells. In this project, we aimed to develop a universal coating procedure for 3D scaffolds and microcarrier based on our proprietary biomatrix technology. The biomatrix consists of chemically defined, bioresponsive polymers deposited on the surface of scaffolds/microcarriers using a layer-by-layer procedure. We further intended to enhance the understanding of the physico-chemical principles of this molecular deposition procedure. With the development of such a universal coating procedure and the improved understanding of the underlying mechanisms we aimed to improve the functionality of cell culture scaffolds and microcarriers for bioreactor culture. The optimized growth surface of such scaffolds and microcarriers will ultimately lead to a higher quality and yield of cells and as such address the bottleneck of cell manufacturing.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Cell culture of primary and stem cells is basic for cell therapy approaches to treat degenerative, genetic, and immunological diseases. To enable mass production of cells utilized for these therapies, it is essential that the technologies used to manufacture, expand and differentiate cells are safe, robust, reliable and cost-effective. However, current stem cell culture technologies are often not sufficient for safe clinical application. This is mainly due to the quality of coatings mimicking biological conditions and surrounding of cells. Hence, motivation for this project is to produce a functional, chemically-defined coating for optimal stem cell culture. To realize this, a layer-by-layer technology for reproducible 2D biomatrix coatings will be established, accompanied by the development of a kinetic model and analytical methods for quality assessment. The achieved knowledge will be transferred to 3D cell culture and validation experiments with mesenchymal stromal cells will be conducted to confirm that the produced 2D and 3D biomatrices support cell growth. This project provides essential basic research to realize medical and regulatory needs with high exploitation potential.denovoMATRIX will implement this highly interdisciplinary and intersectoral project in an industrial as well as an academic context covering biological, chemical and physical aspects. The fellow, being chemist with expertise in colloidal and nanoscience, will receive a unique mix of specific research and transferable skills in the field of biomaterials and their application for-stem cell culture, underlined by a training plan to address the research objectives. Realization of the two-way knowledge transfer will result in strong benefits for both: new knowledge and a basis for a new class of products for the host, and diversification of professional competences and continuation of the fellow’s career perspective as a leading multidisciplinary researcher.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- DENOVOMATRIX GMBH · DresdenCoordinatorGermany
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union