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Automated decellularization of intact, human-sized lungs for tissue engineering
Andrew P Price1, Lindsay M Godin, Alex Domek
11 Division of Blood and Marrow Transplant, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Cancer Center, University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Tissue Engineering. Part C, Methods
|May 16, 2014
Summary
Researchers created an automated system for decellularizing whole organs, significantly reducing processing time to 24 hours. This innovation yields more consistent acellular lung matrices for tissue engineering applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Regenerative Medicine
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Whole-organ decellularization is crucial for creating scaffolds in tissue engineering.
- Manual methods are time-consuming and can yield inconsistent results.
- Developing automated systems is essential for reproducible organ matrix production.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate an automated system for decellularizing whole human-sized organs.
- To compare the efficiency and consistency of automated versus manual decellularization methods.
- To demonstrate the system's capability using porcine lungs.
Main Methods:
- An automated system with a software-controlled valve manifold was designed for fluid perfusion.
- The system was integrated with a bioreactor chamber for controlled fluid dynamics.
- Porcine lungs were decellularized using a protocol involving deionized water, detergents, sodium chloride, and porcine pancreatic DNase.
Main Results:
- The automated system reduced decellularization time from days to 24 hours.
- Automated decellularization produced more consistent acellular matrices, with controlled levels of DNA, collagen, elastin, laminin, and glycosaminoglycans.
- The system demonstrated reproducibility in generating decellularized lung scaffolds.
Conclusions:
- The developed automated system offers a rapid, controllable, and reproducible method for whole-organ decellularization.
- This advancement is a significant step forward for whole-organ tissue engineering.
- The system's consistency and efficiency pave the way for creating reliable organ scaffolds.
