Interdeparmental Research Center E.Piaggio - Faculty of Engineering- University of Pisa Giovanni Vozzi

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1 Interdeparmental Research Center E.Piaggio - Faculty of Engineering- University of Pisa Giovanni Vozzi g.vozzi@centropiaggio.unipi.it

2 Description of the Organization Give short information about your organisation, previous FP experiences etc. The Interdepartmental Research Center E. Piaggio of the University of Pisa is devoted to multidisciplinary research in the fields of bioengineering and robotics, and to the training of personnel for careers in Research and Development. More popularly referred to as Centro Piaggio, the Center is one of the oldest multidisciplinary research centers in Europe where scientists from different disciplines converge to combine their expertise and know how to generate knowledge and provide research and training facilities. Currently, the Center has two main research groups: Robotics and Bioengineering, cooperating with about 100 researches of the University of Pisa. It has promoted spin-off projects with the cooperation of the University of Pisa, and it has opened laboratories and activated conventions with some hubs of industrial technology in the region of Tuscany, such as the hubs of Navacchio, Cecina and Piombino. The Center is currently involved in several European projects, and is part of few European Networks of Excellence: HYCON (Hybrid Control and Embedded Systems), EURON (Robotics), CONET (Cooperating Objects and Sensor Networks), INLIVETOX (nanotoxicology), ARTREAT (virtual Human Physiology), MES-Star (Manunet Project, biomaterials and regenerative medicine), CEEDS (Human Machine Social-Emotional Interaction) The Center cooperates with enterprises, companies and industries, including BMW, FERRARI GeS, Magneti Marelli Powetrain, Piaggio, ENEL, Kayser Italia, ESA, ASI, DARPA, Telethon, ENEA, etc..

3 Description of your research interest My research team is composed of a group of researchers that has been studying, designing and developing different CAD/CAM systems for application to biomedical engineering and in particular to Tissue Engineering for many years. The Unit also has great expertise in the realization of dynamic cell culture systems able to reproduce, alone, or in combination with the microfabricated architecture, the principal features of the natural tissue environment. They have set up a laboratory at Interdepartmental Research Center E.Piaggio, at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Pisa, equipped with different facilities for microfabrication and design and testing of bioreactors. This laboratory already has a Soft-lithography room, equipped with UV-crosslinker oven, hotplate, spin-coater system, optical and fluorescence microscope and hood. Furthermore, 2 CAD/CAM systems designed, realised and patented by my research Team, PAM (pressure activate microsyringe) and PAM2 (Piston activate microsyringe) systems, are available. My team has also expertise and instruments to perform mechanical tests on the polymeric structures before and after in-vitro and in-vivo tests, and to determine the wettability and surface charge density of scaffolds (Kelvin-probe device). I m also a member of the Department of Chemical Engineering, and I have the possibility to evaluate the micro- and nano-topology of the scaffolds realized, before and after cell -mediated biodegradation (during in vitro and in vivo tests) by SEM microscopy. Our group has also: 1) a single-screw extruder (VSF-MAC.GI s.r.l., Italy) with 20/1 barrel length/diameter ratio and a ring-shaped die with 1.5 mm and 1.0 mm external and internal diameter, respectively. 2) an electro-fiber spinning system 3) a thulium laser for laser ablation and sintering. Finally my research team activities are also based on the development of FEM models of mechanical behavior of realised scaffold, of perfusion of nutrients in these scaffolds and microfluidic network and bioreactors, and on the realization of in-silico cell model of cell metabolism in static and dynamic conditions

4 NMP : Biomaterials: Imaging and rapid precise prototyping technology for custom made scaffolds TITLE:Standard and modular scaffold bricks for tissue engineering applications Objectives: to combine different rapid prototyping techniques in order to develop standard scaffolds bricks or molds that can be assembled directly in surgical room or biological laboratories in order to reconstruct a piece of tissue or organ that could be repaired to integrate medical imaging, e.g. computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and rapid micro/nano prototyping in order to create customized scaffolds for tissue regeneration or repair. Expected results The medical imaging should furnish information not only on the topology of tissue to engineer but also on its constituents, on their gradient distribution, and on the local mechanical properties for each section To obtain the right combination of rapid prototyping techniques in order to realise basic scaffolds blocks that could be assembled in order to realise the real 3D structure of natural tissue (for synthetic polymers) To obtain the right combination of rapid prototyping techniques in order to realise basic scaffolds molds that could be assembled in order to realise a 3D molds in which can be casted natural polymer, in particular hydrogel, in order to mimic natural tissue In both cases to foresee the presence o a vascular network that can assembled with scaffold bricks or molds in order to produce a real vascularized engineered tissue

5 Consortium - profile of known partners No Partner Name Type Country Role in the Project 01 University of Pisa RTD Italy Coordinator and Modular Microfabrication using extrusion system 02 Politecnico of Leiria RTD Portugal Microfabrication using FDM system 03 Fraunhofer Institute RTD Germany Design and realisation of Modular Microfabrication Platform 04 University of Twente RTD Netherlan d Microfabrication using electro-fiber spinning system 05 Suffolk University RTD UK Stem cell culture

6 Consortium - required partners No Expertise Type Country Role in the project 01 Medical Imaging RTD/SME/ IND to define one should be China Acquisition and extraction of principal features from medical imaging 02 Extrapolation of mechanical, topological and materials features of natural tissue RTD/SME/ IND to define one should be China correlation between medical imaging feature and mechanical properties 03 Biomaterials and nanotechology techniques RTD/SME/ IND to define one should be China innovative biomaterials for tissue engineering applications and /or nano rapid prototyping techniques

7 Giovanni Vozzi Interdepartmental Research Center E.Piaggio Faculty of Engineering University Of Pisa Tel Web: