Inflammatory processes are infamous for their destructive effects on tissues and joints in a variety of diseases. Within the body, inflammation is a highly regulated biological response whose purpose is to promote tissue regeneration following injury. However, in certain settings, inflammation persists and leads to progressive tissue destruction. ...

Damage to or loss of craniofacial tissues, often resulting from neoplasm, trauma, or congenital defects, can have devastating physical and psychosocial effects. The presence of many specialized tissue types integrated within a relatively small volume leads to difficulty in achieving complete functional and aesthetic repair. Tissue engineering offers ...

A novel injectable hydrogel system for cell delivery in craniofacial bone tissue engineering was developed in this work. The hydrogel employs a dual solidification mechanism by containing units that gel upon temperature increase to physiological temperature and groups that allow for covalent crosslinking. The successful synthesis of macromers for ...

Due to their invasiveness as well as the complex properties of articular cartilage current treatments often fail to restore cartilage damage. Thus, tissue engineering approaches have received attention as a promising alternative to treat cartilage disease. A variety of natural and synthetic materials have been developed as potential carriers for cells ...

To create a more efficient and effective method of osteogenic drug delivery in vivo, drugs were modified with high calcium affinity moieties including pamidronate, poly(aspartic acid), and poly(glutamic acid). To test the initial hypothesis that modified drugs can demonstrate the same bone binding capabilities of pamidronate, poly(aspartic acid), and ...

There is a current significant clinical need for bone replacement. Although some therapies and bone substitutes are in current use, their disadvantages provide a strong motivation for new approaches. The field of tissue engineering seeks to mitigate this problem by the concerted application of strategies involving cells, scaffolding, and growth ...

Novel polymer networks based on poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF) and the crosslinking agent poly(propylene fumarate)-diacrylate (PPF-DA) were investigated as a material for a biodegradable interbody fusion cage. The aim of this work was to establish the effect of the macromolecular network structure on the physical properties in order to tailor the ...

The development of novel strategies for tissue engineering entails the evolution of biopolymers into multifunctional constructs that can support the proliferation of cells and stimulate their differentiation into functional tissues. With that in mind, biocompatible polymers were fabricated into a novel gene delivery agent as well as three dimensional ...

Damage to synovial joints results in osteochondral defects that only heal with inferior fibrous repair tissue. Since mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play a vital role in the natural development, maintenance, and repair of cartilage and bone, tissue engineering strategies to enhance functional regeneration by modulating MSC differentiation are a promising ...

Cartilage is highly dependent on its extracellular matrix (ECM) for many of its vital characteristics such as a low friction surface, high compressive strength, and force distribution. Unfortunately, articular cartilage is avascular in nature and exhibits limited capacity for self-healing. This thesis focused on fabricating polymer/ECM hybrid scaffolds ...