应我校机电工程学院任玉坤教授邀请，香港理工大学生物医学工程系赵昕副教授将围绕《Photocrosslinkable polymers for tissue engineering》主题进行线上报告，欢迎感兴趣的老师和同学参加。讲座内容和时间地点安排如下：
报告人：赵 昕 副教授
报告题目：Photocrosslinkable polymers for tissue engineering
报告时间：8月17日（周三）15：00-17：00
报告方式：腾讯会议492 935 844，密码 220817
报告人简介：
赵昕，香港理工大学生物医学工程系副教授，港澳优青，博士生导师。赵昕博士致力于工程学、生物学、医学等多学科交叉领域中的基础及应用研究工作，目前已在国际顶级期刊发表论文100余篇，其中6篇入选ESI高被引论文，累计引用5000余次，H指数为41。同时作为主要申请人主持国家自然科学基金优秀青年科学基金项目（港澳）、香港研究资助局、香港创新科技署及香港食物及卫生局科研项目等总计20余项，共计受资助2100余万港币。此外，赵昕博士于2022年获华人生物材料协会奖Mid-Career Award（全球仅3人入选）及《自然》杂志2019年“自然科研—励志科学奖”提名（全球范围共评选10位），并作为香港地区唯一代表获2018年国际医学与生物工程联合会亚太研究网络奖。
报告摘要：
Photocrosslinkable polymers are polymers that can be solidified from liquid upon light exposure. They have been employed to fabricate tissue engineered constructs due to the mild conditions for crosslinking, highly tunable mechanical and structural modifiability, printability, biodegradability and biocompatibility. These biomaterials can maintain their structural integrity after biofabrication and provide topological, biochemical, and physical cues to guide cellular behaviors by creating a biomimetic microenvironment.
The emphasis of this talk is placed on how photocrosslinkable polymers can be used to achieve bone regeneration, for example, their fabrication into various scaffolds (electrospun fibers, microspheres, and 3D printed scaffolds) to reconstruct bones. Specifically, assisted by microfluidics, we have developed photocrosslinkable methacrylated gelatin (GelMA) based microspheres encapsulating human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for bone repair. Due to the mild crosslinking conditions, we found that the GelMA microspheres can provide a favourable micro-environment for MSC survival, spreading, migration, proliferation and osteogenesis. In another study, we prepared a periosteum mimicking bone aid (PMBA) by electrospinning photocrosslinkable GelMA with L-arginine-based unsaturated poly (ester amide) (Arg-UPEA), and methacrylated hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHAMA). Upon light exposure, the resultant hydrogel fibrous scaffolds can solidify within seconds. Via controlling the crosslinking density, we can control the scaffolds’ mechanical and degradation property. The optimal scaffold was found to provide long term structural and functional support and mediation of physiological activity. With the aid of 3D printing, we developed 3D bone scaffolds made of photocrosslinkable nanocomposite ink consisting of tri-block poly (lactide-co-propylene glycol-co-lactide) dimethacrylate (PmLnDMA, m and n respectively represent the unit length of propylene glycol and lactide) and nHAMA. It is discovered that nHAMA can rapidly interact with PmLnDMA upon light exposure within 140 seconds and form an inorganic-organic co-crosslinked nanocomposite network. This bone ink was found to provide good mechanical support and bioactivity (allow for encapsulation and long-term release of growth factors) for bone regeneration.
