Fabrication of hybrid decellularized extracellular matrix polycaprolactone nanofiber scaffolds for use in next generation lung-on-a-chip

Lung diseases are the third leading cause of death worldwide and are predicted to continue to rise in the coming years. In addition to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, cigarette smoking and air pollution (indoor and outdoor) remain major cause of increased mortality worldwide and major drivers of disease in both the first and third world.

Chronic and acute lung diseases (e.g COVID-19) severely affect the gas exchange function of the lung over time due to damage to the gas exchange units of the lung, termed the alveoli. In particular, the alveolar cells of the lung epithelium provide the major first layer of defense in protecting infectious and non-infectious particles from entering the internal organs of the body. One of the major roadblocks to identifying new therapies for patients with lung disease is a lack of suitable models for studying disease. Animal models are known to be unable to completely recapitulate human disease and culturing human alveolar type II cells in conditions which mimic the native, in vivo conditions is thus far not feasible. Models which allow culture of epithelial cells which sit on a nanofibrous basement membrane and are exposed to the air on their apical side would be a major advance. In this project we aim to develop 3D hybrid nanofiber scaffolds for AT2 cells culturing by utilizing electrospinning of synthetic polymer together with decellularized tissues and will test this in dynamic culture conditions using custom built lung on a chip devices.