Invited Keynote: Tissue Engineering for the intervertebral Disc
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Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, 21-24 April
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ABSTRACT:
This keynote will address the key challenges in developing artificial intervertebral disc (IVD) implants using additive manufacturing, electrospinning, and embroidered or woven materials to mimic the IVD. The talk shall focus on selected biomaterials, such as silk and selected natural or synthetic hydrogels. Silk belongs to the traditional biomaterials. Biomimetic fiber-reinforced silk hydrogels could be promising materials for IVD regeneration. Silk has been investigated in biomedical applications for decades, especially in orthopedics. This talk will summarize the current status of silk in IVD regeneration applications. Another focus will be the application of fiber-reinforced hydrogels, possibly combined with other fibers for reinforcement, for disc repair. Here, some very promising formulations were introduced, such as fibrin genipin combinations (fib-gen) and methacrylated gellan gum. Also, highly appealing is hyaluronic acid cross-linked with collagen type 2.
I will also highlight some of our group’s research from the past 15 years. Among them, we highlight genetically engineered silk in B. mori expressing growth and differentiation factor 6 (GDF6), as well as studies in which GDF5 was covalently bound to silk fibers to facilitate “discogenic” or “pulpogenic” differentiation of mesenchymal stromal cells. Furthermore, upscaling scaffold-like or fully printed IVD, seeding these carriers, and then controlling the differentiation towards IVD-like cells is challenging. Finally, various procedures for processing silk have been established and can be further explored using electrospinning, biofabrication, or 3D printing methods.
Silk processed as foam, gel, or fibers in combination with hydrogels could be a promising solution for regenerating the intervertebral disc. Future research might even engineer microenvironments to enrich certain cell types, such as progenitor-like cells, and develop novel concepts for cell delivery systems, together with the scaffold.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
This Research was financed by a Weave Agency Grant of the Swiss National Science Foundation (# 320030E_224175) and the German Research Society (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG, # 437213841), and by the Bridge Funding Program, which is co-financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) and the Innosuisse, grant #211510.
This keynote will address the key challenges in developing artificial intervertebral disc (IVD) implants using additive manufacturing, electrospinning, and embroidered or woven materials to mimic the IVD. The talk shall focus on selected biomaterials, such as silk and selected natural or synthetic hydrogels. Silk belongs to the traditional biomaterials. Biomimetic fiber-reinforced silk hydrogels could be promising materials for IVD regeneration. Silk has been investigated in biomedical applications for decades, especially in orthopedics. This talk will summarize the current status of silk in IVD regeneration applications. Another focus will be the application of fiber-reinforced hydrogels, possibly combined with other fibers for reinforcement, for disc repair. Here, some very promising formulations were introduced, such as fibrin genipin combinations (fib-gen) and methacrylated gellan gum. Also, highly appealing is hyaluronic acid cross-linked with collagen type 2.
I will also highlight some of our group’s research from the past 15 years. Among them, we highlight genetically engineered silk in B. mori expressing growth and differentiation factor 6 (GDF6), as well as studies in which GDF5 was covalently bound to silk fibers to facilitate “discogenic” or “pulpogenic” differentiation of mesenchymal stromal cells. Furthermore, upscaling scaffold-like or fully printed IVD, seeding these carriers, and then controlling the differentiation towards IVD-like cells is challenging. Finally, various procedures for processing silk have been established and can be further explored using electrospinning, biofabrication, or 3D printing methods.
Silk processed as foam, gel, or fibers in combination with hydrogels could be a promising solution for regenerating the intervertebral disc. Future research might even engineer microenvironments to enrich certain cell types, such as progenitor-like cells, and develop novel concepts for cell delivery systems, together with the scaffold.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
This Research was financed by a Weave Agency Grant of the Swiss National Science Foundation (# 320030E_224175) and the German Research Society (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG, # 437213841), and by the Bridge Funding Program, which is co-financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) and the Innosuisse, grant #211510.
Date of Publication
2026
Publication Type
Conference Item
Language(s)
en
Title of Event
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Access(Rights)
open.access