Biomechanics of Engineered Tissues

Happy to share our latest work—a fun interdisciplinary collaboration between Kim Jensen’s team at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine – reNEW and Roche’s Institute of Human Biology. We investigated how tissue architecture instructs development, specifically whether it can transition lab-grown intestinal epithelium from an immature (fetal) state toward a more adult and functional state. Building on earlier work from the lab on geometric organoid patterning (Nikolce Gjorevski et al., https://lnkd.in/gggBM4A4), we extended this technology to probe the intestinal “fetal-to-adult” transition and the role of crypt formation. Shared first authors Martti Maimets (reNEW) and Mike Nikolaev (IHB) combined their complementary expertise in developmental biology and bioengineering to tackle this challenge. Our key findings: * Geometric guidance: We engineered hydrogel scaffolds with native, crypt-mimicking topography. * Tunable crypt geometry: By controlling crypt shape, we modulated cell crowding, which in turn influences maturation, differentiation, and spatial patterning via YAP1 signaling. * Mechanistic biology: Geometry provides a direct way to probe mechanotransduction during maturation, allowing us to separate architectural effects from other complex extrinsic cues present in vivo. Overall, this platform offers a more deterministic way to develop and mature tissues in vitro, with significant potential for creating predictive models in drug safety/efficacy and disease biology studies. A huge thank you to all our fantastic collaborators at reNEW and the contributors at the Institute of Human Biology! Read the full study here: https://lnkd.in/eZVRvE3n #HumanModelSystems #StemCells #Organoids #Bioengineering #CellStemCell #DrugDiscovery #PharmaInnovation

Pleased to share that our most recent collaborative work with colleagues from the University of Southampton, the The University of Manchester, and Sheffield Hallam University titled "Ceramic-based piezoelectric material reinforced 3D printed polycaprolactone bone tissue engineering scaffolds" was published by Materials & Design. ➡️ Recent studies confirm the piezoelectricity of human bone, sparking interest in biocompatible and biodegradable piezoelectric scaffold development. These scaffolds mimic native bone by matching its mechanical properties and piezoelectric behaviour i.e., generating local electrical stimulation under mechanical stress, or generating mechanical response under external electrical stimulation, thereby modulating cellular activity, accelerating cell proliferation and differentiation, ultimately speeding up the regeneration process. Although polymer-based piezoelectric materials offer high reproducibility for 3D scaffolds, their piezoelectric performance falls short of ceramic alternatives. While lead zirconate titanate (PZT) exhibits excellent piezoelectric properties, the haz- ardous nature of lead limits biomedical applications. Consequently, this research proposes novel lead-free Bi1/ 2Na1/2TiO3-based (BNT) piezoelectric materials, namely, direct piezoelectric ceramics (DPC) (>50 % d33 enhancement compared to undoped BNT) and converse piezoelectric ceramics (CPC) (>200 % Smax enhancement compared to undoped BNT), with properties optimized for bone tissue engineering (BTE). 3D BTE scaffolds are designed and fabricated considering biocompatible and biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) incorporating DPC and CPC as functional fillers. Comparative evaluations against hydroxyapatite (HA), a well-accepted bio- ceramic for clinical applications, are conducted for surface, mechanical, and biological properties. Results proved the incorporation of both DPC and CPC promotes the mechanical properties (88.6 % enhancement compared to neat PCL) and cell proliferation rate (46.3 % improvement compared to HA). Notably, hybrid scaffolds combining both PCL/DPC and PCL/CPC in a cascade manner also outperformed PCL/HA (by 7.4 %) in osteogenic differentiation, indicating promising potential for future studies. This work is part of a long term collaboration with Dr Weiguang Wang on bone tissue engineering. Thanks to the other co-authors Yanhao Hou, Ge Wang, Hareem Zubairi, Mustafa Tuğrul Uçan, David Hall, and Antonio Ferreira 👏 #bonetissueengineering; #piezoelectricscaffolds; #ceramics, #polymers #scaffolds; #biomaterials; #3Dprinting; #additivemanufacturing; #collaboration; #research; #innovation

Want to make your biohybrid robots *11X* more powerful? Add tendons! Check out the latest story from our lab, which gives muscle actuators a *major design upgrade* by tissue engineering modular "muscle-tendon units" that mimic musculoskeletal architectures found in nature. First, we develop a mathematical framework that enables predictive design of robots actuated by biohybrid muscle-tendon units. Then, we showcase how adding tough hydrogel tendons to muscle-powered robots increases force transmission by 30X and power-to-weight ratio by 11X! Huge congratulations to lead author Nicolas Castro for years of persistence in the lab that led to these findings. This study would not have been possible without critically enabling collaborations at MIT MechE in tough hydrogel synthesis, via Xuanhe Zhao, and compliant mechanism design, via Martin Culpepper. We are also deeply grateful for funding from the U.S. Army Research Office and the National Science Foundation. Out today in Advanced Science: https://lnkd.in/eMS-eMHe MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE)

For the first time, researchers have grown a bioengineered human limb in a lab setting that contains living bone, muscle, blood vessels, and connective tissue — a development that could eventually end the era of prosthetic limbs for amputees. American scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital successfully created a vascularized, living rat forelimb in a decellularized scaffold, and subsequent work is now scaling toward human limb architecture. The lab-grown limb responded to electrical stimulation and showed active muscle contraction. The process uses a technique called decellularization — taking a donor limb, stripping it of all cells while preserving the structural collagen scaffold, then reseeding that scaffold with the patient's own stem cells. The scaffold acts as a three-dimensional blueprint, guiding cells to grow into the correct anatomical positions. Blood vessels are restored first, then muscle, then connective tissue, resulting in a living limb that the body is far less likely to reject. Over 2 million Americans live with limb loss, and current prosthetics — however advanced — cannot restore sensation, grip strength, or natural motor control the way a biological limb can. A grown replacement limb using the patient's own cells would be fully functional, sensate, and immunologically invisible to the body. That is categorically different from any existing solution. While human-scale clinical application remains years away, the architectural science is proven. The next decade may see the first human patient receiving a grown replacement arm — not built from metal, but from their own living cells. Source: Massachusetts General Hospital, Biomaterials Journal, 2023 #LimbRegeneration #BioEngineering #RegenerativeMedicine #AmputeeResearch #LabGrownTissue #FutureSurgery

Physical cues are powerful regulators of cell fate. While mechanical loading and magnetic fields have each shown promise independently, their combined magnetomechanical effect on osteochondral regeneration has remained largely unexplored—partly due to the lack of standardized and comparable in vitro platforms. In our latest work published in Biomaterials, we developed a versatile, high-throughput magnetomechanical stimulation system capable of delivering precisely controlled oscillating magnetic fields and cyclic mechanical deformation to 3D constructs in vitro. By pairing this platform with magnetoactive 3D-printed scaffolds containing different magnetic contents, we show that magnetomechanical stimulation alone—without biochemical differentiation cues—can direct cell commitment. Low magnetic content scaffolds favor osteogenic differentiation, with strong upregulation of ALP and osteocalcin, whereas higher magnetic content scaffolds promote chondrogenic commitment, with increased collagen II and aggrecan expression https://lnkd.in/e8RKiDdw Thanks Maria Kalogeropoulou for leading the work #collaboration Pierpaolo Fucile Sophia Dalfino Gianluca Tartaglia Izabela-Cristina Stancu #Biomaterials #TissueEngineering #Magnetomechanics #OsteochondralRegeneration #3Dprinting #Mechanobiology #RegenerativeMedicine

MIT Breakthrough: Artificial Tendons Give Muscle-Powered Robots 3× Speed and 30× Force Introduction Biohybrid robotics—machines powered by living muscle—has long promised natural motion and unmatched adaptability. But weak force transmission and fragile connections have held the field back. MIT engineers have now solved this barrier with a new artificial tendon system that dramatically amplifies strength, speed, and durability, pushing real-muscle robots closer to practical deployment. Key Developments • MIT researchers created artificial tendons from tough, flexible hydrogel engineered to adhere to both living tissue and robotic components. • These tendons bridge lab-grown muscle to robotic skeletons with far greater efficiency than muscle alone. • The upgraded system delivered 3× faster movement and 30× more force in a robotic gripper compared to muscle-only designs. • The modular tendon–muscle interface allows interchangeable components, simplifying the design of diverse muscle-driven robotic systems. • Precise stiffness and flexibility were modeled using a three-spring simulation representing muscle, tendon, and robot skeleton. • The hydrogel tendons enabled more than 7,000 contraction cycles without degradation—a major milestone in durability. • The power-to-weight ratio increased 11×, meaning small muscle strips can now produce significantly larger mechanical outputs. • External experts note the leap in force transmission, longevity, and modularity as a significant advance for biohybrid robotics. Scientific and Engineering Significance • The soft-but-strong tendons solve chronic tearing and detachment issues that previously limited muscle-powered machines. • This biomechanical bridge mimics the native tendon–muscle relationship in animals, enabling more realistic and efficient actuation. • The approach creates a scalable path for building robots with natural movement, enhanced adaptability, and biological energy efficiency. • Researchers are already developing protective “skin-like” casings to bring these systems closer to real-world operation environments. Why This Matters MIT’s tendon-enhanced biohybrid system represents a foundational leap for next-generation robotics. By unlocking powerful, reliable, biologically driven actuation, engineers can design machines that move more like organisms—efficient, flexible, and capable of fine control. This breakthrough paves the way for lifelike soft robots, medical devices powered by engineered tissue, and new classes of adaptive machines that blend biology with engineered precision. I share daily insights with 34,000+ followers across defense, tech, and policy. If this topic resonates, I invite you to connect and continue the conversation. Keith King https://lnkd.in/gHPvUttw