Browsing by Author "Nirmala, RJ"

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    A non-adhesive hybrid scaffold from gelatin and gum Arabic as packed bed matrix for hepatocyte perfusion culture
    (MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING C-MATERIALS FOR BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, 2015) Sarika, PR; Viha, CVS; Raj, RGS; Nirmala, RJ; Kumar, PRA
    Development of liver support systems has become one of the most investigated areas for the last 50 years because of the shortage of donor organs for orthotopic liver transplantations. Bioartificial liver (BAL) device is one of the alternatives for liver failure which provides a curing method and support patients to recover from certain liver failure diseases. The biological compartment of BAL is called the bioreactor where functionally active hepatocytes are maintained to support the liver specific functions. We have developed a packed bed bioreactor with a cytocompatible, polysaccharide protein hybrid scaffold. The scaffold prepared from gelatin and gum Arabic acts as a packed bed matrix for hepatocyte culture. Quantitative evaluation of the hepatocytes cultured using packed bed bioreactor demonstrated that cells maintained liver specific functions like albumin and urea synthesis for seven days. These results indicated that the system can be scaled up to form the biological component of a bioartificial liver. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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    Graphene oxide decorated electrospun gelatin nanofibers: Fabrication, properties and applications
    (MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING C-MATERIALS FOR BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, 2016) Jalaja, K; Sreehari, VS; Kumar, PRA; Nirmala, RJ
    Gelatin nanofiber fabricated by electrospinning process is found to mimic the complex structural and functional properties of natural extracellular matrix for tissue regeneration. In order to improve the physico-chemical and biological properties of the nanofibers, graphene oxide is incorporated in the gelatin to form graphene oxide decorated gelatin nanofibers. The current research effort is focussed on the fabrication and evaluation of physicochemical and biological properties of graphene oxide-gelatin composite nanofibers. The presence of graphene oxide in the nanofibers was established by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We report the effect of incorporation of graphene oxide on the mechanical, thermal and biological performance of the gelatin nanofibers. The tensile strength of gelatin nanofibers was increased from 829 +/- 0.53 MPa to 21 +/- 2.03 MPa after the incorporation of GO. In order to improve the water resistance of nanofibers, natural based cross-linking agent, namely, dextran aldehyde was employed. The cross-linked composite nanofibers showed further increase in the tensile strength up to 56.4 +/- 2.03 MPa. Graphene oxide incorporated gelatin nanofibers are evaluated for bacterial activity against gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria and cyto compatibility using mouse fibroblast cells (L-929 cells). The results indicate that the graphene oxide incorporated gelatin nanofibers do not prevent bacterial growth, nevertheless support the L-929 cell adhesion and proliferation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.