Predicting the safety and biocompatibility potential of bacterial hydrogels
Cell Biology
Final Report Abstract
Living Therapeutic Materials (LTMs) are a promising alternative to classical drug carriers for long term release of therapeutics. LTMs contain living biofactories, such as bacteria. These biofactories are engineered to produce drugs. The use of biofactories represents an advantage compared to traditional drug delivery systems because these biofactories can sustain the production of therapeutics over time, for as long as the biofactory is viable and active. However, it is difficult to predict the potential application of these LTMs as there is not much information on their interactions with the host. To refine their applicability, their safety and biocompatibility potential must be assessed. This was the main goal of this project. To evaluate how LTMs interact with host cells, we have established methodologies for their assessment of safety and cytocompatibility. First, we developed a way to screen different culture conditions of bacterial LTMs with host cells. This was the first obstacle we tackled, as different bacterial strains require different culture conditions to grow. Therefore, it was important to find appropriate culture conditions for both LTMs and host cells. Second, we developed a workflow to parallelize in vitro assessment of cytocompatibility properties of bacterial LTMs. We have found in vitro culture conditions for three bacterial strains and we have worked on two main LTMs: poly(vinyl alcohol)-based and Pluronic F127-based LTMs. With these methodologies we can systematically monitor and quantify the dynamic evolution of the bacterial population (growth, viability, metabolic activity) and investigate important parameters such as biocontainment, cytotoxicity, pyrogenicity and pro-inflammatory potential of the LTMs. These methods represent the first steps in the establishment of a roadmap for the safety and biocompatibility assessment of LTMs.
Publications
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A workflow for cytocompatibility assessment of living therapeutic materials. Poster presentation in the Engineered living materials conference 2024 in Saarbruecken, Germany.
Mekontso J. A., Trujillo S. & del Campo A.
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In vitro Biocompatibility Assessment of Engineered Living Materials: A High Throughput Strategy. Oral presentation in the European Society of Toxicology in vitro (ESTIV) 2024 in Prague, Czech Republic.
Desai, K., Sankaran S., del Campo A. & Trujillo S.
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In vitro Biocompatibility Assessment of Engineered Living Materials: A High Throughput Strategy. Poster presentation in the Engineered living materials conference 2024 in Saarbruecken, Germany.
Desai, K., Sankaran S., del Campo A. & Trujillo S.
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In vitro Biocompatibility Assessment of Living Therapeutic Materials: A High Throughput Strategy. Oral presentation in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Congress 2024 in Darmstadt, Germany.
Desai, K., Sankaran S., del Campo A. & Trujillo S.
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In vitro Biocompatibility Assessment of Living Therapeutic Materials: A High Throughput Strategy. poster presentation in World Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (TERMIS) Congress 2024 in Seattle, United States.
Desai, K., Sankaran S., del Campo A. & Trujillo S.
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A practical workflow for cytocompatibility assessment of living therapeutic materials. Biomaterials Advances, 169, 214182.
Mekontso, Joëlle Aurelie; Farrukh, Usama; Trujillo, Sara & del, Campo Aránzazu
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A screening setup to streamline in vitro engineered living material cultures with the host. Materials Today Bio, 30, 101437.
Desai, Krupansh; Sankaran, Shrikrishnan; del Campo, Aránzazu & Trujillo, Sara
