Lorenzo Moroni

Maastricht Universiteit · Complex Tissue Regeneration

The formation of nanofibrous membranes via electrospinning is typically restricted to high molecular weight polymers in an appropriate solvent, correlated with the necessary formation of polymer chain entanglements that are needed to achieve successful production of electrospun fibers. The present work extends the electrospinning of low molecular w...

Bioactive glasses (BGs) belong to a group of ceramic biomaterials having numerous applications due to their excellent biocompatibility and bioactivity. Depending on their composition, properties of BGs can be finely tuned. In this study, we investigated both angiogenic and osteogenic properties of a novel family of BGs from the SiO2–CaO–Na2O system...

Recent technological advances in the field of Additive Manufacturing (AM) and the increasing need in Regenerative Medicine (RM) for devices that better and better mimic native tissue architecture are showing limitations in the current scaffolds fabrication techniques. A switch from the typical layer-by-layer approach is needed to achieve precise co...

Mechanical metamaterials are rationally designed structures engineered to exhibit extraordinary properties, often surpassing those of their constituent materials. The geometry of metamaterials’ building blocks, referred to as unit cells, plays an essential role in determining their macroscopic mechanical behavior. Due to their hierarchical design a...

The development of next generation soft and recyclable materials prominently features dynamic (reversible) chemistries such as host–guest, supramolecular, and dynamic covalent. Dynamic systems enable injectability, reprocessability, and time-dependent mechanical properties. These properties arise from the inherent relationship between the rate and...

Hybrid 3D constructs combining different structural components afford unique opportunities to engineer functional tissues. Creating functional microvascular networks within these constructs is crucial for promoting integration with host vessels and ensuring successful engraftment. Here, we present a hybrid 3D system in which poly (ethylene oxide te...

Hydrogels of biopolymers are gradually substituting synthetic hydrogels in tissue engineering applications due to their properties. However, biopolymeric hydrogels are difficult to standardize due to the intrinsic variability of the...

Polyethleneglycol-cyclodextrin polyrotaxane microgels facilitate injectable and moldable hydrogels to advance corneal tissue engineering.

Dynamic hydrogels are attractive platforms for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine due to their ability to mimic key extracellular matrix (ECM) mechanical properties like strain-stiffening and stress relaxation while enabling enhanced processing characteristics like injectability, 3D printing, and self-healing. Systems based on imine-type...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) leads to a gradual loss of kidney function, with fibrosis as pathological endpoint, which is characterized by extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and remodeling. Traditionally, in vivo models are used to study interstitial fibrosis, through histological characterization of biopsy tissue. However, ethical consideration...

Enthesis lesions are one of the prevalent causes of injuries in the tendon tissue. The gradient of mineralization, extracellular matrix organization and auxetic mechanical properties, make enthesis regeneration challenging. Innovative electrospun fascicle-inspired nanofibrous poly(L-lactic)acid/collagen type I blend scaffolds were developed. Specif...

The creation of biodegradable and biocompatible shape memory polymers amenable to biofabrication techniques remains a challenge. The ability to create shape-changing biodegradable objects that are triggered at body temperature opens up possibilities in tissue engineering, minimally invasive surgery, and actuating bioimplants. Merging Digital Light...

Protein‐based hydrogels have great potential to be used as bioinks for biofabrication‐driven tissue regeneration strategies due to their innate bioactivity. Nevertheless, their use as bioinks in conventional 3D bioprinting is impaired due to their intrinsic low viscosity. Using embedding bioprinting, a liquid bioink is printed within a support that...

The development of next generation soft and recyclable materials prominently features the use of dynamic (reversible) chemistries such as host-guest, supramolecular, and dynamic covalent. The advantages of dynamic systems are their injectability (shear-thinning and self-healing), reprocessability, and dynamic (time-dependent) mechanical properties,...

Protein-based hydrogels have great potential to be used as bioinks for biofabrication-driven tissue regeneration strategies due to their innate bioactivity. Nevertheless, their use as bioinks in conventional 3D bioprinting is impaired due to their intrinsic low viscosity. Using embedding bioprinting, a liquid bioink is printed whithin a support tha...

Understanding how porous biomaterials interact with cells at their surface and how they either promote or inhibit cellular processes has presented several challenges. Additive manufacturing enables the fabrication of scaffolds with distinct compositions and designs for different tissue engineering applications. To evaluate the in vitro performance...

Melt extrusion-based additive manufacturing (ME-AM) is a promising technique to fabricate porous scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. However, most synthetic semicrystalline polymers do not possess the intrinsic biological activity required to control cell fate. Grafting of biomolecules on polymeric surfaces of AM scaffolds enhances the b...

Critical-sized mandibular bone defects, arising from, for example, resections after tumor surgeries, are currently treated with autogenous bone grafts. This treatment is considered very invasive and is associated with limitations such as morbidity and graft resorption. Tissue engineering approaches propose to use 3D scaffolds that combine structura...

Dynamic hydrogels are attractive platforms for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, but there are limited polymer platforms amenable to the formation of these dynamic materials. Most architectures reported are based either on telechelic synthetic polymers or side-chain modified natural polymers; synthetic versions of side-chain modified po...

Over the years, three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has attracted attention for being a highly automated manufacturing system that allows for the precise design of living constructs where cells and biomaterials are displaced in predefined positions to recreate cell–matrix and cell–cell interactions similar to native tissues. Such technologies rarely...

Biomaterials are defined as “engineered materials” and include a range of natural and synthetic products, designed for their introduction into and interaction with living tissues. Biomaterials are considered prominent tools in regenerative medicine that support the restoration of tissue defects and retain physiologic functionality. Although commonl...

Stem cell therapies using mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have recently emerged as a promising approach for the treatment of tympanic membrane (TM) injuries. However, the role of essential biochemical, biophysical, and biomechanical signals in guiding the MSC differentiation for TM applications remains unexplored. Therefore, this study aims to add...

The alteration in the neural circuits of both central and peripheral nervous systems is closely related to the onset of neurodegenerative disorders (NDDs). Despite significant research efforts, the knowledge regarding NDD pathological processes, and the development of efficacious drugs are still limited due to the inability to access and reproduce...

Elastin is the main component of arteries and is responsible for their high‐elastic high‐strain capacity. The biomechanics of biological tissues typically display a stress–strain curve characterized by a sigmoidal shape that has an initial region with low stress and high strain. Studies aimed at mimicking such biomechanical behavior focus on improv...

The convergence of organoid and organ‐on‐a‐chip (OoC) technologies is urgently needed to overcome limitations of current 3D in vitro models. However, integrating organoids in standard OoCs faces several technical challenges, as it is typically laborious, lacks flexibility, and often results in even more complex and less‐efficient cell culture proto...

The regeneration of the osteochondral unit represents a challenge due to the distinct cartilage and bone phases. Current strategies focus on the development of multiphasic scaffolds that recapitulate features of this complex unit and promote the differentiation of implanted bone‐marrow derived stem cells (BMSCs). In doing so, challenges remain from...

The design of scaffolds for multi-tissue regeneration is very complex in terms of material and structure, as a direct consequence of hierarchical and organizational features. TRIZ represents the Russian acronym for the “Theory of Inventive Problem Solving” (TIPS). TRIZ is able to identify and codify such principles, using them to make the creative...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) ranks as the twelfth leading cause of death worldwide and represents a major global health problem with still rather limited treatment options. The development of new in vitro models replicating defined segments of the kidney functional units, i.e., the nephrons, in a physiologically relevant and reproducible manner cou...

Today, cartilage tissue engineering (CTE) is considered important due to the lack of repair of cartilaginous lesions and the absence of appropriate methods for treatment. In this study, polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds were fabricated by three-dimensional (3D) printing and were then coated with fibrin (F) and acellular solubilized extracellular mat...

The main function of articular cartilage is to provide a low friction surface and protect the underlying subchondral bone. The extracellular matrix composition of articular cartilage mainly consists of glycosaminoglycans and collagen type II. Specifically, collagen type II fibers have an arch-like organization that can be mimicked with segments of...

Citation: Ursini, O.; Grieco, M.; Sappino, C.; Capodilupo, A.L.; Giannitelli, S.M.; Mauri, E.; Bucciarelli, A.; Coricciati, C.; de Turris, V.; Gigli, G.; et al. Modulation of Methacrylated Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels Enables Their Use as 3D Cultured Model. Gels 2023, 9, 801. Abstract: Bioengineered hydrogels represent physiologically relevant platfor...

Introduction Phthalates are a class of endocrine-disrupting chemicals that have been shown to negatively correlate with thyroid hormone serum levels in humans and to cause a state of hyperactivity in the thyroid. However, their mechanism of action is not well described at the molecular level. Methods We analyzed the response of mouse thyroid organ...

Bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) are extensively being utilized for cartilage regeneration owing to their excellent differentiation potential and availability. However, controlled differentiation of BMSCs towards cartilaginous phenotypes to heal full‐thickness cartilage defects remains challenging. This study investigates how d...

Conventional synthetic hydrogels often lack the load-bearing capacity and mechanical properties of native biopolymers found in tissue, such as cartilage. In natural tissues, like cartilage, toughness is often imparted via the combination of fibrous non-covalent self-assembly with key covalent bond formation. The controlled combination of supramolec...

Coronary artery disease affects millions worldwide. Bypass surgery remains the gold standard; however, autologous tissue is not always available. Hence, the need for an off-the-shelf graft to treat these patients remains extremely high. Using melt spinning, we describe here the fabrication of tubular scaffolds composed of microfibers aligned in the...

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapies have been brought forward as a promising treatment modality for cutaneous wound healing. However, current approaches for stem cell delivery have many drawbacks, such as lack of targetability and cell loss, leading to poor efficacy of stem cell therapy. To overcome these problems, in the present study, an in sit...

Fibrosis of implants remains a significant challenge in the use of biomedical devices and tissue engineering materials. Antifouling coatings, including synthetic zwitterionic coatings, have been developed to prevent fouling and cell adhesion to several implantable biomaterials. While many of these coatings need covalent attachment, a conceptually s...

Alginate (ALG) is a widely used biomaterial to create artificial extracellular matrices (ECM) for tissue engineering. Since it does not degrade in the human body, imparting proteolytic sensitivity to ALG hydrogels leverages their properties as ECM-mimics. Herein, we explored the strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) as a biocompatible...

Bioprinting in space is the next frontier in tissue engineering. In the absence of gravity, novel opportunities arise, as well as new challenges. The cardiovascular system needs particular attention in tissue engineering, not only to develop safe countermeasures for astronauts in future deep and long‐term space missions, but also to bring solutions...

Cartilage tissue presents low self‐repair capability and lesions often undergo irreversible progression. Structures obtained by tissue engineering, such as those based in extrusion bioprinting of constructs loaded with stem cell spheroids may offer valuable alternatives for research and therapeutic purposes. Human mesenchymal stromal cell (hMSC) sp...

Nucleic acids have clear clinical potential for gene therapy. Plasmid DNA (pDNA) was the first nucleic acid to be pursued as a therapeutic molecule. Recently, mRNA came into play as it offers improved safety and affordability. In this study, we investigated the uptake mechanisms and efficiencies of genetic material by cells. We focused on three mai...

Traditional synthetic covalent hydrogels lack the native tissue dynamics and hierarchical fibrous structure found in the extracellular matrix (ECM). These dynamics and fibrous nanostructures are imperative in obtaining the correct cell/material interactions. Consequently, the challenge to engineer functional dynamics in a fibrous hydrogel and recap...

In recent years, engineering biomimetic cellular microenvironments have been a top priority for regenerative medicine. Collagen II, which is arranged in arches, forms the predominant fiber network in articular cartilage. Due to the shortage of suitable microfabrication techniques capable of producing 3D fibrous structures, in vitro replication of t...

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the connective tissue providing mechanical stability to the knee joint. ACL reconstruction upon rupture remains a clinical challenge due to the high mechanical properties required for proper functioning. ACL owes its outstanding mechanical properties to the arrangement of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and to the...

Recent technological advances in the field of Additive Manufacturing (AM) and the increasing need in Regenerative Medicine (RM) for devices that better and better mimic native tissues architecture are showing limitations in the current scaffolds fabrication techniques. A switch from the typical layer-by-layer approach is needed to achieve precise c...

Digital light processing (DLP) is an accurate and fast additive manufacturing technique to produce a variety of products, from patient‐customized biomedical implants to consumer goods. However, DLP's use in tissue engineering has been hampered due to a lack of biodegradable resin development. Herein, a library of biodegradable poly(esters) capped w...

The dual role of macrophages in the healing process depends on macrophage ability to polarize into phenotypes that can propagate inflammation or exert anti-inflammatory and tissue-remodeling functions. Controlling scaffold geometry has been proposed as a strategy to influence macrophage behavior and favor the positive host response to implants. Her...

The topography of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is a major biophysical regulator of cell behavior. While this has inspired the design of cell-instructive biomaterials, the ability to present topographic cues to cells in a true 3D setting remains challenging, particularly in ECM-like hydrogels made from a single polymer. Herein, we report the desig...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.mex.2019.10.018.].

Critical-sized bone defects, caused by congenital disorders or trauma, are defects that will not heal spontaneously and require surgical intervention. Recent advances in biomaterial design for the treatment of such defects focus on improving their osteoinductive properties. Here, we propose a bioactive composite with high ceramic content composed o...

The combination of biomaterials and bioactive particles has shown to be a successful strategy to fabricate electrospun scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Among the range of bioactive particles, hydroxyapatite and mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) have been widely used for their osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties. Yet, the compariso...

Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors have been extensively researched for their anti-inflammatory and neuroregenerative properties. Despite the known neuroplastic and myelin regenerative properties of nonselective PDE4 inhibitors on the central nervous system, the direct impact on peripheral remyelination and subsequent neuroregeneration has not y...