Date of Award
August 2021
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Bioengineering
Committee Member
Brian W Booth
Committee Member
Heather Dunn
Committee Member
Angela Alexander-Bryant
Committee Member
Agneta Simionescu
Abstract
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer diagnoses worldwide. In the United States, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with some form of breast cancer within their lifetime. Breast reconstructive surgeries are an important part of patient health and well being following tumor removal. Unfortunately, modern reconstructive techniques frequently result in surgical complications, such as infection and tissue necrosis. Breast cancer recurrence is also a serious concern for patients, occurring in 10-41% of patients after 5 years depending on the severity of the original diagnosis. Tannic acid (TA), a naturally occurring polyphenol and antioxidant, has been researched for use in a wide variety of biomedical applications due to its unique chemical structure. In certain concentrations, TA selectively induces apoptosis in ER+ and HER2+ breast cancer cells compared to non-tumorogenic mammary cells. TA has also demonstrated potent antimicrobial activity against common pathogenic bacterium like S. Aureus and E. Coli. TA has applications in biomaterials as a crosslinker due to its ability to form hydrogen bond between collagen fibers and other natural polymers and improve mechanical properties. Our lab has developed an injectable TA crosslinked collagen bead biomaterial with anticancer activity to create a multifunctional cell scaffold. The goal of the device is to be used for breast reconstruction, where patients’ isolated preadipocytes are grown on collagen beads in vitro before injection into surgical voids capable of fatty tissue regeneration as a replacement for lipofilling. As an injectable scaffold, it was key to first define the parameters for precise device manufacture, cell seeding, and injection in order to understand the relationship between TA concentration, bead size, and cell attachment. Following implantation, the safety and efficacy of the collagen/TA bead as a tissue regenerative implant and TA delivery system needed to be determined by assessing the biocompatiblity and cellular composition of the collagen/TA beads in vivo. Lastly, the degradation rate of the beads and changes in TA concentration overtime in vivo was analyzed to determine the longevity of the bead structure and TA release in vivo for potential antibacterial and anticancer activity.
Recommended Citation
Baldwin, Andrew, "The in Vivo and in Vitro Characterization of Collagen/Tannic Acid Beads as an Injectable Tissue Regenerative Scaffold for Breast Reconstruction Post-Lumpectomy" (2021). All Dissertations. 2845.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2845