Spinal cord injuries result in permanent loss of motor function, leaving those affected with long term physical and financial burdens. Strategies for spinal cord injury repair must overcome unique challenges due to scar tissue that seals off the injury site, preventing regeneration. Tissue engineering can address these challenges with scaffolds that serve as cell- and drug-delivery tools, replacing damaged tissue while simultaneously addressing the inhibitory environment on a biochemical level. To advance this approach, the choice of cells, biomaterial matrix, and drug delivery system must be investigated and evaluated. This research seeks to evaluate (1) the behaviour of murine induced pluripotent stem cells in previously characterized 3D fibrin matrices; (2) the 3D fibrin matrix as a platform to support the differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells; and (3) the ability of an affinity-based drug delivery system to control the release of emerging spinal cord injury therapeutic, heat shock protein 70 from fibrin scaffolds. / Graduate / 0541 / amy.lynn.montgomery@gmail.com
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/5272 |
| Date | 23 April 2014 |
| Creators | Montgomery, Amy |
| Contributors | Willerth, Stephanie M |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/, Available to the World Wide Web |
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