Native/Engineered Tissue numerical models for Mechanics and Tissue Growth (NET-MTG)

Brief description

Main topic: NET-MTG, development of structural deterministic numerical models to predict mechanics, endogenous tissue formation and degradation of engineered and native tissue.
Three macro-areas, which are widely recognized as relevant for the tissue engineering approach, still need more effective numerical models: I) mechanical models able to correlate the macro, meso and micro scales, II) tissue growth models with the ability to correlate mechanics and tissue elaboration, III) scaffold degradation model able to correlate mass loss with mechanical loads. This research line tries to address these three critical topics by introducing and  by perfecting structural deterministic models for engineered and native tissues.   

Impact:

This research line has potential implications on a number of topics in computational biomechanics and scaffold design, more specifically:

– development of tools to assist engineered tissue and biomaterials design;

– development of tools to elucidate the interrelation between multiscale mechanics, de-novo ECM elaboration and scaffold degradation;

– development of tools and methods to study the relationship between macro-meso and – micro scale in engineered and native tissue. Targeted applications: TEHV, TEVG, TECP;

– development of numerical tools to elucidate mechanobiology of ECM aging;

– development of numerical tools to elucidate the mechanisms of pathological remodeling and fibrotic tissue formation.

Pipeline