Group 1
Revanth Kosaraju
Grade 11
The Harker School, San Jose CA
A Novel Perfusion-Based Protocol for Decellularization of Adipose Tissue on a Bioreactor
Emerging tissue engineering research has focused on three crucial steps: harvesting of tissue, decellularization while preserving the extracellular matrix (ECM), and stem cell growth. Specifically, adipose tissue has become increasingly important due to its high vascularization. Current protocols for adipose tissue decellularization do not use perfusion. A perfusion-based protocol would have several benefits, including thorough decellularization and retention of tissue vasculature and ECM. This study sought to develop a novel protocol employing peracetic acid to decellularize adipose tissue on a bioreactor through perfusion. In repeated trials, the decellularization efficacy of the novel protocol was compared with that of two existing protocols. It was demonstrated through a perfusion test, histologies, and a computer program designed by the author that the novel protocol attained the highest decellularization (=73%) while retaining the overall vasculature and ECM. The results indicate that the novel perfusion-based protocol holds great promise for decellularizing adipose tissue.
