Veronika Hruschka

• PhD
• Administrative Director at Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Traumatology

Additive and lithographic manufacturing technologies using photopolymerisation provide a powerful tool for fabricating multiscale structures, which is especially interesting for biomimetic scaffolds and biointerfaces. However, most resins are tailored to one particular fabrication technology, showing drawbacks for versatile use. Hence, we used a re...

Regeneration of bone defects in elderly patients is limited due to the decreased function of bone forming cells and compromised tissue physiology. Previous studies suggested that the regenerative activity of stem cells from aged tissues can be enhanced by exposure to young systemic and tissue microenvironments. The aim of our project was to investi...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the potential to repair and regenerate damaged tissues in response to injury, such as fracture or other tissue injury. Bone marrow and adipose tissue are the major sources of MSCs. Previous studies suggested that the regenerative activity of stem cells can be enhanced by exposure to tissue microenvironments. The a...

Synthetic peptide conjugates that can molecularly target and activate blood platelets are designed for hemostasis applications. An engineered thrombin receptor-activating peptide (TRAP-Cys, SFLLRNPNC) is covalently attached to cell-compatible 8-arm poly (ethylene glycol) maleimides via Michael addition. It is proved that the ability of TRAP to acti...

Background The need for bone graft substitutes including those being developed to be applied together with new strategies of bone regeneration such as tissue engineering and cell-based approaches is growing. No large animal model of bone regeneration has been accepted as a standard testing model. Standardization may be the key to moving systematica...

Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HA) has good biocompatibility and the potential to support bone formation. It represents a promising alternative to autologous bone grafting, which is considered the current gold standard for the treatment of low weight bearing bone defects. The purpose of this study was to compare three bone substitute pastes of dif...

Several hemostatic strategies rely on the use of blood components such as fibrinogen and thrombin, which suffer from high cost and short shelf-life. Here, a cost-effective synthetic biomaterial is developed for rapid local hemostasis. Instead of using thrombin, thrombin-receptor-agonist-peptide-6 (TRAP6) is covalently engineered in polyvinyl alcoho...

A dual thermoresponsive and magnetic colloidal gel matrix is described for enhanced stem-cell culture. The combined properties of the material allow enzyme-free passaging and expansion of mesenchymal stem cells, as well as isolation of cells postculture by the simple process of lowering the temperature and applying an external magnetic field. The c...

Objectives: Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatites (nHA) are being developed for bone augmentation and some have regulatory approval for clinical use. We investigated the in vitro biocompatibility of several nHA pastes with particle sizes of 60-70nm (BP1, BP2, OP2a) and a commercially available, nHA bone graft material. The aim of this study was to compar...

Tissue engineering (TE) strategies aim to imitate the natural process of regeneration by using bioresorbable scaffolds that support cellular attachment, migration, proliferation and differentiation. Based on the idea of combining a fully degradable polymer (Poly(ε-caprolactone) with a thermoresponsive polymer (polyethylene glycol methacrylate), a s...

Thermoreversible hydrogels for tissue engineering (TE) purposes have gained increased attention in recent years as they can be combined with cells and drugs and directly injected into the body. Following the fate of transplanted cells in situ is essential in characterizing their distribution and survival, as well as the expression of specific marke...