How chemistry, biology and medical technology could save heart patients from further surgeries

09.02.2021

Miriam Al Enezy-Ulbrich, who is a scientist at the DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, is working on an interdisciplinary project with Svenja Wein and Hanna Malyaran from the University Hospital Aachen to develop artificial heart valves. In particular, the scientists are focusing on functional fibrin-based hydrogels to control the interaction of cells with biomaterials in biohybrid cardiovascular implants.

Heart disease is a typical widespread disease and affects over 3 million people in Germany. This shows the relevance of the topic for all age groups and is Al Enezy-Ulbrich's, Wein's and Malyaran's motivation to research modern alternatives for heart valve replacements. Everyone has certainly heard of porcine, bovine, or mechanical heart valves as replacements, but the biocompatibility is limited. The researchers would like to offer a solution that is individually tailored to the patient's body.

The Project - Biohybrid Heart Valve adapted to the Patient
The subproject "Functional fibrin-based hydrogels for the control of cell/biomaterial interactions in biohybrid cardiovascular implants" of the package proposal 961 "Towards a model‐based control of biohybrid implant maturation", which is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), is dealing with the development of a biohybrid heart valve. The influence of modified hydrogels on the differentiation properties of the patient's own stem cells up to muscle cells are investigated.

At DWI, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Andrij Pich, fibrin-based hydrogels are modified with functional, synthetic copolymers that serve as a growth base for the stem cells. This modification leads to firmer gels with improved mechanical properties, which have a direct influence on the differentiation behavior of the cells. This effect is being investigated by the Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering group, headed by Prof. Sabine Neuß-Stein at the University Hospital Aachen. The scientists were able to demonstrate that the modified gels are biocompatible and degrade significantly more slowly than pure fibrin gels. This ensures a longer durability of the construct and thus provides an optimized growth basis for the patient's own stem cells. The benefits of this are a longer valve life compared to currently commercially available implants and a reduced risk of calcification and thrombosis.

Future vision - Carefree life despite heart disease?
The "tissue engineered" heart valve is to be specially tailored to the patient's cell type, so that in future it should be possible to reduce the body's rejection reactions in this way. This should make it possible to reduce the number of operations performed on people with heart diseases. Furthermore, it is possible that patients will be able to lead a more symptom-free life. "In the future, our research can hopefully significantly improve surgical medicine in the field of cardiology and offer an adequate alternative to conventional replacement," the three said.

Their work on “Impact of Reactive Amphiphilic Copolymers on Mechanical Properties and Cell Responses of Fibrin‐Based Hydrogels" appeared in the journal Advanced Functional Materials. The original article can be found here.

Further information
PhD Student

Miriam Al Enezy-Ulbrich, M.Sc.

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Portraitfoto von Miriam Al Enezy-Ulbrich