WPI Research Publication

FALL 2012

WPI Research is the research magazine of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. It contains news and features about graduate research in the arts and sciences, business, and engineering, along with notes about new grants, books, and faculty achievements.

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to regenerate cardiac muscle and improve the heart's ability to pump blood. When placing the cells on traditional bio- logical scaffolds produced mixed results, he decided to try seeding the cells on biopolymer microthreads first developed at WPI by George Pins, associate professor of biomedical engineering. Made of collagen, fibrin, and other biologic materials, the hair-thin microthreads can be braided into cable-like structures that mimic muscles, ligaments, and tendons. They can be seeded with engineered cells to promote regrowth of specific tissues. Pins developed the microthreads with the hope that they could be used to repair damaged ACLs (anterior cruciate ligaments). They have since been used by Gaudette and other researchers at WPI and elsewhere for a variety of tissue engineering and regeneration projects, with remarkable results. Gaudette says 60 percent of stem cells engraft in the heart when he uses the threads, a substantial improvement over the success rate for traditional scaffolds. "It's been exciting to see how this work has evolved into a platform technology with many clinical applications," Pins said. At Mass General, Gaudette will use the microthreads as biological sutures to stitch stem cells into the decellularized heart and analyze their impact. "Our studies have shown that using the microthreads to deliver cells to a rat heart dramati- cally increases the successful engraftment rate compared to injection or perfusion," Gaudette says. "Working with Dr. Ott's team, we'll use the threads on the decellularized heart and study how the cells perform, how they migrate, and if they will develop into contracting heart-muscle tissue." Once made painstakingly by hand, the microthreads are now produced by an extrusion system designed by WPI faculty members and graduate students. Earlier this year, Pins and Gaudette founded a new company, VitaThreads, to commercialize the microthread technology and the extruder. The company, now based at WPI's Life Sciences and Bioen- gineering Center, is focusing initially on tissue regeneration in the veterinary market as a precursor for human product development. Q George Pins, left, and Glenn Gaudette examine a machine that mass produces biopolymer microthreads that can serve as scaffolds for stem cells. VIDEO EXTRA Learn about a machine that extrudes microthreads. [32] wpi.edu/+research

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