(October 22, 2019) – CFD Research Corporation was recently awarded a $1M contract funded by the Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program to develop and demonstrate a novel platform to generate vascularized thick tissue constructs for regenerative medicine applications. This capability is of interest to the U.S. Army for research in wound healing and regenerative medicine in an effort to improve Warfighter health and readiness.
“A key bottleneck in developing tissues, in particular thick tissues, is the mass transfer limitations due to limited vasculature in the tissue, which detrimentally impacts the long-term viability and functionality of the tissue constructs,” said Dr. Prabhakar Pandian, CFD Research Principal Investigator.
CFD Research aims to develop a universal platform for vascularized thick tissue constructs that mimic the desired cell, tissue and organ architecture. In prior work, CFD Research demonstrated critical proof-of-concept using a synergistic in silico and in vitro approach to guide the development of the thick vascularized tissues. This follow-on work will extend the approach to multiple tissue types (e.g., cardiac, liver, and lung) in their respective microenvironments. CFD Research will perform characterization of the tissue constructs by functional assays and long-term maintenance for up to 30 days.
In order to achieve these goals, CFD Research is teaming with Theradaptive Inc., a leader in regenerative therapies to focus on three main innovative elements; (1) developing a universal bioink for printing of vascularized thick tissue constructs with tunable physical properties, incorporation of growth factors and desired extracellular matrices, (2) producing protocols using commercially available 3D bioprinter for integration of the universal bio ink, and (3) developing cells representing desired tissue components for development of the vascularized tissue constructs.
“The developed constructs will be validated against in vivo data for both structural and functional responses,” said Dr. Kapil Pant, Executive Vice-President of Biomedical and Life Sciences at CFD Research, “Technology insertion and commercialization activities will also be pursued such as regulatory approval and partnerships for manufacturing scale-up.”
About CFD Research:
Since its inception in 1987, CFD Research has worked with government agencies, businesses and academia to provide innovative solutions within the Aerospace & Defense, Biomedical & Life Sciences, and Energy & Materials industries. Over the years CFD Research has earned multiple national awards for successful application and commercialization of innovative component/system technology prototypes, multi-physics simulation software, multi-disciplinary analyses, and expert support services. CFD Research is an ISO9001 and AS9100 registered company and is appraised at CMMI Level II for services. Learn more at www.cfdrc.com.
