This is a past event.

Materials Science and Engineering Seminar

Parisa P.S.S. Abadi, PhD
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Michigan Technological University

Abstract: Materials with multi-scale structure have many applications. In this presentation, two of the applications will be presented: carbon nanotube-based nano-bioactuators and cardiomyocyte tissue engineering. In the first part, microfibers composed of hyaluronic acid hydrogel and single-wall carbon nanotubes are developed for biocompatible electrochemical microactuators. Electrically conductive and biocompatible microfibers with strong mechanical properties have received great attention due to their potential applications in various biomedical applications such as implantable medical devices, biosensors, artificial muscles, and microactuators. Mechanically robust, flexible, and electrically conductive microfibers are obtained by wet-spinning and crosslinking of the hybrid fiber. The obtained hybrid microfibers show excellent conductivity, capacitance, and actuation behavior under low potential in a biological environment. In the second part, polydimethylsiloxane substrates with 3D topography at the micrometer and sub‐micrometer levels are developed and used as cell‐culture substrates to mimic the biophysical and biomechanical complexity of the native in vivo environment during the differentiation and maturation process of cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. The results show that while cylindrical patterns on the substrates resembling mature enhance the maturation of cardiomyocytes, sub‐micrometer‐level topographical features derived by imprinting primary human cardiomyocytes further accelerate both the differentiation and maturation processes. The resulting cardiomyocytes exhibit a more‐mature phenotype than control groups—as confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, flow cytometry, and the magnitude of beating signals—and possess the shape and orientation of mature cardiomyocytes in human myocardium—as revealed by fluorescence microscopy, Ca²⁺ flow direction, and mitochondrial distribution.

Bio: Dr. Abadi is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Tech. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Michigan Tech, she was a NIH Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital. Her research interests are in the areas of nanomaterials and mechanics and their applications in tissue engineering and medical devices. She received a Scientist Development Grant from the American Heart Association in 2017 and a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the American Association of University Women in 2015.