Publications

@article{Bastiancich2021-ob,

title = {Rationally designed drug delivery systems for the local 

 treatment of resected glioblastoma},

author = {Chiara Bastiancich and Alessio Malfanti and V\'{e}ronique Pr\'{e}at and Ruman Rahman},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-10-01},

journal = {Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev.},

volume = {177},

number = {113951},

pages = {113951},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {Glioblastoma (GBM) is a particularly aggressive brain cancer 

 associated with high recurrence and poor prognosis. The standard 

 of care, surgical resection followed by concomitant radio- and 

 chemotherapy, leads to low survival rates. The local delivery of 

 active agents within the tumor resection cavity has emerged as 

 an attractive means to initiate oncological treatment 

 immediately post-surgery. This complementary approach bypasses 

 the blood-brain barrier, increases the local concentration at 

 the tumor site while reducing or avoiding systemic side effects. 

 This review will provide a global overview on the local 

 treatment for GBM with an emphasis on the lessons learned from 

 past clinical trials. The main parameters to be considered to 

 rationally design fit-of-purpose biomaterials and develop drug 

 delivery systems for local administration in the GBM resection 

 cavity to prevent the tumor recurrence will be described. The 

 intracavitary local treatment of GBM should i) use materials 

 that facilitate translation to the clinic; ii) be characterized 

 by easy GMP effective scaling up and easy-handling application 

 by the neurosurgeons; iii) be adaptable to fill the 

 tumor-resected niche, mold to the resection cavity or adhere to 

 the exposed brain parenchyma; iv) be biocompatible and possess 

 mechanical properties compatible with the brain; v) deliver a 

 therapeutic dose of rationally-designed or repurposed drug 

 compound(s) into the GBM infiltrative margin. Proof of concept 

 with high translational potential will be provided. Finally, 

 future perspectives to facilitate the clinical translation of 

 the local perisurgical treatment of GBM will be discussed.},

keywords = {Brain cancer, Controlled drug delivery, Glioblastoma, Hydrogels, Local drug delivery, Nanomedicine},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Hamid2021-mr,

title = {3D bioprinting of a stem cell-laden, multi-material tubular 

 composite: An approach for spinal cord repair},

author = {Omar A Hamid and Hoda M Eltaher and Virginie Sottile and Jing Yang},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-01-01},

journal = {Mater. Sci. Eng. C Mater. Biol. Appl.},

volume = {120},

number = {111707},

pages = {111707},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {Development of a biomimetic tubular scaffold capable of 

 recreating developmental neurogenesis using pluripotent stem 

 cells offers a novel strategy for the repair of spinal cord 

 tissues. Recent advances in 3D printing technology have 

 facilitated biofabrication of complex biomimetic environments by 

 precisely controlling the 3D arrangement of various acellular 

 and cellular components (biomaterials, cells and growth 

 factors). Here, we present a 3D printing method to fabricate a 

 complex, patterned and embryoid body (EB)-laden tubular scaffold 

 composed of polycaprolactone (PCL) and hydrogel (alginate or 

 gelatine methacrylate (GelMA)). Our results revealed 3D printing 

 of a strong, macro-porous PCL/hydrogel tubular scaffold with a 

 high capacity to control the porosity of the PCL scaffold, 

 wherein the maximum porosity in the PCL wall was 15%. The 

 method was equally employed to create spatiotemporal protein 

 concentration within the scaffold, demonstrating its ability to 

 generate linear and opposite gradients of model molecules 

 (fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated bovine serum albumin 

 (FITC-BSA) and rhodamine). 3D bioprinting of EBs-laden GelMA was 

 introduced as a novel 3D printing strategy to incorporate EBs in 

 a hydrogel matrix. Cell viability and proliferation were 

 measured post-printing. Following the bioprinting of EBs-laden 

 5% GelMA hydrogel, neural differentiation of EBs was induced 

 using 1 μM retinoic acid (RA). The differentiated EBs 

 contained βIII-tubulin positive neurons displaying axonal 

 extensions and cells migration. Finally, 3D bioprinting of 

 EBs-laden PCL/GelMA tubular scaffold successfully supported EBs 

 neural differentiation and patterning in response to co-printing 

 with 1 μM RA. 3D printing of a complex heterogeneous tubular 

 scaffold that can encapsulate EBs, spatially controlled protein 

 concentration and promote neuronal patterning will help in 

 developing more biomimetic scaffolds capable of replicating the 

 neural patterning which occurs during neural tube development.},

keywords = {3D printing, Embryoid body (EB), Gradient, Hydrogels, Nerve   regeneration, Neural differentiation, Polycaprolactone},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}