title: Development of photosynthetic biomaterials for in vitro tissue engineering.
abstract: Tissue engineering has opened a new therapeutic avenue that promises a revolution in regenerative medicine. To date, however, the translation of engineered tissues into clinical settings has been highly limited and the clinical results are often disappointing. Despite decades of research, the appropriate delivery of oxygen into three-dimensional cultures still remains one of the biggest unresolved problems for in vitro tissue engineering. In this work, we propose an alternative source of oxygen delivery by introducing photosynthetic scaffolds. Here we demonstrate that the unicellular and photosynthetic microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii can be cultured in scaffolds for tissue repair; this microalga shows high biocompatibility and photosynthetic activity. Moreover, Chlamydomonas can be co-cultured with fibroblasts, decreasing the hypoxic response under low oxygen culture conditions. Finally, results showed that photosynthetic scaffolds are capable of producing enough oxygen to be independent of external supply in vitro. The results of this study represent the first step towards engineering photosynthetic autotrophic tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hopfner
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Thilo-Ludwig
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Schenck
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Myra-Noemi
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Chávez
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Günther
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Machens
authors.affiliation: Molekulare Pflanzenwissenschaften, Biozentrum Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Grosshaderner Strasse 2-4, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexandra-Viola
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Bohne
authors.affiliation: Molekulare Pflanzenwissenschaften, Biozentrum Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Grosshaderner Strasse 2-4, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nickelsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany; Hand, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Klinikum der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Pettenkoferstraße 8a, 80336 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Riccardo-Enzo
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Giunta
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany; FONDAP Center for Genome Regulation, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago, Chile. Electronic address: tomasega@gmail.com.
authors.forename: José-Tomás
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Egaña
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D016825:Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / Q000378:metabolism; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D010788:Photosynthesis
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials
keywords: Chlamydomonas reinhardtii; Hypoxia; Photosynthesis; Scaffolds; Tissue engineering