Engineering Surfaces to control Neurogenesis
PhD Supervisor(s): Dr Paul Roach, Dr Rosemary Fricker
Contact Email: R.C.M.Wright@lboro.ac.uk
Undergraduate Degree: BSc Brewing and Distilling (Heriot-Watt University); MSc Bioprocessing (Heriot-Watt University)
PhD Summary
The overarching aim of the project is to better define surface chemical characteristics which direct neural cell responses towards increasing dopamine neuron populations. This work has been carried out in vitro using primary rat tissue as a model. Chemical functionality is often highlighted as an important biomaterial property, interfacing directly with biomolecules. The first part of my PhD project was to establish the effect of silane head-group on neurosphere culture (composites of neural progenitors and stem cells), highlighting this to be an effective way to control neural cell response. The role of net surface properties on cell response is an overlooked factor, leading us to further study net surface molecular properties and how these affected cell culture dynamics. We have now progressed our investigation to study chemical gradients, which are important part of neural development, but have not yet been successfully mimicked in vitro. By varying density of an amine rich polymer across a surface we have controlled neural differentiation in vitro.
Publications, Presentations and Awards
Publications
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