Gupta, A.; (2011) Development and characterisation of silsesquioxane-polycaprolactone nanocomposite scaffolds for use in small intestinal tissue engineering. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Tissue engineering of small intestine aims to provide a cure to patients suffering from short bowel syndrome by increasing the absorptive surface through neo-intestinal mucosal tissue. So far, preliminary in vivo attempts by a research team in the USA have shown regeneration of neo-intestinal mucosa in rat models with some success; however experiments in this complex field of tissue engineering still remain in infancy and far from clinical use. A fresh perspective is required to further investigate all the three aspects of tissue engineering, namely, the polymer scaffold, the cell supply, and the biomolecules. The concept of nanocomposite polymer is rapidly emerging and has generated a lot of enthusiasm in tissue engineering due to their high surface to volume ratio and hence enhanced performance. This work was focussed to develop and characterise scaffolds for small intestinal tissue engineering using a new nanocomposite polymer of polycaprolactone and silsesquixane, developed in our laboratory. An in vitro study was also performed to test the scaffolds for cell viability and proliferation using rat’s intestinal epithelial cells. Our results have shown that biodegradable polycaprolactone-silsesquioxane nanocomposite can be fabricated in desired scaffold morphology using simple techniques like particulate leaching, and that it supports intestinal cell growth and proliferation. Future studies incorporating these scaffolds for in vivo use in animal models need to be carried out in order to investigate further about their ability to withstand natural forces within the abdomen, and whether they support cell growth based on principles of cell migration, before a more definitive and continuous cell supply is available in form of stem cells cued specifically to intestinal lineage.

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