Mammalian neurons grown on pre-defined “stripes” on a silicon chip.
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Researchers in the school have developed a technology that allows a variety of biological cells and therefore tissue types to be grown along chosen pathways on silicon chips. Following a large collaborative project with Glasgow and Stirling Universities, funded by EPSRC, PhD work performed by Evangelos Delivopoulos, with Alan Murray, has shown that neurons can be grown along pathways on silicon defined as part of the chip's design process. Working closely with colleagues in Biomedical Sciences, a technology has been developed that is 100% compatible with normal chip design and fabrication. More recent experiments have shown that stem cells, at differing stages of development, can also be patterned with great accuracy.
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The work has immediate applications in neural experimentation and drug discovery/assay, where it may both to improve techniques and results while minimising the need for experiments using animals. In the long term, it will contribute to a growing body of work in guided tissue growth for improved prostheses.
Future projects, in collaboration with Chemists and Biologists, will explore the scientific basis of this exciting and new technology. The work has just received £126,574 of "Follow-On" funding from EPSRC for 2008-9, to move the technology closer to commercial exploitation.
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Stem cells grown on a pre-defined grid on a silicon chip.
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