Project Brief
General Competition (December 1992)Fabrication of Clinical Prosthesis from BiomaterialsDevelop the methodology for producing animal-derived extracellular matrix materials as prosthetic materials to support the regeneration of tissues and glands. Sponsor: TEI Biosciences, Inc. (formerly Tissue Engineering, Inc.)305 Commonwealth AvenueBoston, MA 02115
One of the concepts behind this project is to replace damaged or dysfunctional tissues and organs in the body with "prostheses" that are designed to provide templates that mobilize the body's own cells and induce them to rebuild the lost tissue -- gradually replacing the prosthesis itself. Regeneration of body parts requires a biomaterial with the proper structure, or "microarchitecture", and the proper chemical signals and components that the body's tissue cells can recognize, respond to, and remodel. Tissue Engineering, a biotechnology start-up, is pioneering a new class of biomaterials: ADMAT, animal-derived extracellular matrix. ADMAT materials are derived from parts of land and marine animals. They are formed from the highly diverse and complex collection of biomolecules that form their own matrix for structural organization and differentiation. This extracellular material to some extent is self-organized into ordered, three-dimensional structures important to support tissue regeneration. The material can be spun and woven into fibers, sheets, and films using techniques borrowed from the fabric industry. The ADMAT, by itself, can be used for vascular grafts, ligaments, tendons, periodontal tissue and similar reconstructions. It also can be used as a matrix on which "glandular" cells such as insulin-producing cells, nerve cell precursors, thyroid cells, and others can grow and function. Tissue Engineering is developing the technology to culture these specialized cells using ADMAT. Under the ATP, Tissue Engineering proposes to develop its basic ADMAT materials technology to be able to produce a variety of ADMAT forms, characterize the necessary properties of the ADMAT substrate to promote cell growth and differentiation, characterize ADMAT for immunogenicity, and develop cell banks to support five types of proposed cell-incorporating prostheses.
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