Micro and Nanofabrication for Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering

This course introduces students to applications of micro and nano-engineering in the field of life sciences focusing in particular on cell biology and tissue engineering aspects. The students will be exposed to selected state-of-art research in the field and learn about how to apply micro-fabrication strategies to efficiently interface engineered structures to cells and tissues.

The topics addressed in the course are:

• 1. 2D en 3D microfabrication techniques (optical lithography, soft lithography, etching, stereolithography, bioprinting, two-photon polymerization)

• 2. Introduction to cell biology (mammalian cells, cytoskeleton, primary cells, stem cells, mechanobiology)

• 3. Engineered in vitro cellular microenvironments (disease models, drug-screening models, organ-on-chip)

• 4. Micro-structures for tissue engineering (tissue microscaffolds, spinal cord, stroke, bone tissue engineering)

• 5. Implantable microdevices (deep-brain-stimulators, retina implants, drug-delivery microsystems)