Controlled Release from Hydrogel Scaffolds

Featuring Tatiana Segura, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering Department

The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science

UCLA



Free and open to the public



Abstract:

Strategies to genetically manipulate cells grown in three-dimensional scaffolds have implications in tissue engineering, the study of tissue development/disease and stem cell differentiation strategies. Hydrolysis is typically used in DNA delivery strategies from tissue engineering scaffolds, however, this type of nonenzymatic hydrolysis is uncommon in vivo. Degradation in vivo occurs through cell-secreted and cell-activated proteases such as matrix metalloproteinases proteases (MMP). With this in mind, we are investigating strategies to exploit cell released MMPs to mediate DNA delivery directly to the cellular microenvironment of the MMP secreting cells and to control the release and internalization rate of nanoparticles.



About the Speaker:

Tatiana Segura, Ph.D. received a B.S. degree in bioengineering from UC Berkeley (1999), followed by a Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University (2004). After conducting postdoctoral research at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, she joined the Chemical Engineering Department at UCLA as an assistant professor (2006). Segura's group investigates the design and synthesis of hydrogel-based biomaterials for wound healing, stem cell transplantation, and stem cell differentiation. She is a recipient of the CAREER award from the NSF (2008), the Outstanding New Investigator Award from the American Society of Gene and Cell (2009), and the American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant (2008).