During material and tissue development for medical applications, biofunctionality is often neglected or only evaluated in vivo at late stages of material development, with possibly a dramatic impact on costs. The offered in vitro investigations, using the test battery developed by the Swiss research group, enables the provision of in vitro data proving not only the biocompatibility in the sense of non-toxicity, but also the biofunctionality of the investigated materials.

The sequential step test battery is targeted to investigate and optimise bone related materials and their surfaces using fibroblasts and primary adult human mesenchymal stromal and bone cells. The test battery consists of 4 test levels with increasing degree of specificity and complexity:
Level 0 and 1 measure the effects on cell number and activity under influence of direct presence of extracts of the test material (basic biocompatibility test). Level 2 and 3 evaluate the biofunctionality of the materials (Level 2: effects on osteogenesis and level 3 effects on cell-cell (-cell) interactions/competition (two or triple cell-types)). Here cells are directly kept on top of the material. In case of nanoimplants the cells are cultured in medium containing the nano-sized materials.

At each level materials are selected out of the test-set to be tested in the next level. Materials that perform adequate in all levels are thought to be optimal. This sequential kind of testing enables a rapid selection of biocompatible materials and a fine tuning of these biocompatible ones. Furthermore, the cell-cell (-cell) interaction test imitates the in vivo environment more appropriate in comparison to test regime evaluating effects on solely one cell type.

The test battery is applicable to a broad variety of materials including - with some adaptations - nanoimplants. Beside fibroblasts, primary adult human mesenchymal stromal and bone cells other cell types such as nerve cells can be used to investigate materials for other applications, e.g. to develop nerve guidance conduits for bridging critical nerve defects.

In combination with the described test battery expertise is offered in the field of in vitro toxicology/biocompatibility, cell proliferation and differentiation, cell-surface and cell-cell interactions. For research and services the state-of the-art infrastructure at the institute research facility is used. The laboratories are well-equipped for cultivating primary (human) cells as well as a number of cell-lines, conducting experiments in molecular biology and protein chemistry, measuring electrical activity of cells (multi electrode array equipment), as well as high-end microscopy (incl. two Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) for multichannel images and time-lapse studies) and cell physiology. There is also access to a number of core facilities including analytic laboratories for organic and inorganic analysis and tools for the analysis of material surfaces or components.

Based on their knowledge regarding cell-materials interactions the research group is open to support companies and research institutes in developing ideas regarding implants. They see the present set-up as an excellent tool in industry and EU funded research projects to biologically characterise materials and to optimise them knowledge-based.

Innovative Aspects:
The offered in vitro investigations enable the provision of in vitro data proving not only the biocompatibility but also the biofunctionality of the investigated materials. This can have a big impact on costs.

The test battery is applicable for a broad variety of materials including nanoimplants using different types of cells.

(Biocompatible means non-toxic as evaluated using the ISO10993-5 standard guideline; biofunctional means bioactive in a way that cells are steered in the envisioned direction regarding cell proliferation, migration, differentiation and cell-cell competition.)

 

Patents/Rights: Patent(s) applied for but not yet granted

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