Section of Metabolic Tissue Engineering | ZHAW Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology ICBT

«We support the industry in testing products using 3D living tissue that we have developed ourselves, without animal testing.»

Prof. Dr. Michael Raghunath, Head of Section

The focus of our research is the construction of three-dimensional tissue cultures using human primary cells. We have been applying the methods of tissue engineering for over 10 years to various tissue types such as bone, cartilage and intervertebral discs, connective tissue and skin, the liver and the pancreas. These in vitro tissues and the use of various technologies provide the basis for many diverse objectives and applications.

Areas of expertise

Our developments are used in areas such as

Cell culture technology: automated processes, consideration of biomechanical aspects and bioprinting
Biomaterials and implants: development, characterisation, surface modification and in vitro studies
Medicine: regenerative, cell-based therapies and clinical trials
Drug development: Cultivation and use of organotypic models for substance evaluation

Our research laboratories provide a modern infrastructure and methodological expertise.

We offer our project partners a wide range of opportunities for cooperation. Customer-specific concerns are the principal focus of Bachelor's and Master's theses, directly funded collaborations, and CTI projects.

Competence centre "Tissue Engineering for Drug Development, TEDD"

The centre was founded in 2010 by the members of the section “Tissue Engineering” and has succeeded in combining knowledge, technologies and partners from research and industry.

All news

Publications of the section

Wan, Ho-Ying; Chen, Jack Chun Hin; Xiao, Qinru; Wong, Christy Wingtung; Yang, Boguang; Cao, Benjamin; Tuan, Rocky S.; Nilsson, Susan K.; Ho, Yi-Ping; Raghunath, Michael; Kamm, Roger D.; Blocki, Anna,

2023.

Stabilization and improved functionality of three-dimensional perfusable microvascular networks in microfluidic devices under macromolecular crowding.

Biomaterials Research.

27(32).

Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40824-023-00375-w
Rampin, Andrea; Skoufos, Ioannis; Raghunath, Michael; Tzora, Athina; Diakakis, Nikolaos; Prassinos, Nikitas; Zeugolis, Dimitrios I.,

2022.

Allogeneic serum and macromolecular crowding maintain native equine tenocyte function in culture.

Cells.

11(9), pp. 1562.

Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11091562
Pinelli, Filippo; Pizzetti, Fabio; Veneruso, Valeria; Petillo, Emilia; Raghunath, Michael; Perale, Giuseppe; Veglianese, Pietro; Rossi, Filippo,

2022.

Biomaterial-mediated factor delivery for spinal cord injury treatment.

Biomedicines.

10(7), pp. 1673.

Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10071673
Später, Thomas; Assunção, Marisa; Lit, Kwok Keung; Gong, Guidong; Wang, Xiaoling; Chen, Yi-Yun; Rao, Ying; Li, Yucong; Yiu, Chi Him Kendrick; Laschke, Matthias W.; Menger, Michael D.; Wang, Dan; Tuan, Rocky S.; Khoo, Kay-Hooi; Raghunath, Michael; Guo, Junling; Blocki, Anna,

2022.

Engineering microparticles based on solidified stem cell secretome with an augmented pro-angiogenic factor portfolio for therapeutic angiogenesis.

Bioactive Materials.

(17), pp. 526-541.

Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioactmat.2022.03.015
Vo, Andy N.; Kundu, Srikanya; Strong, Caroline; Jung, Olive; Lee, Emily; Song, Min Jae; Boutin, Molly E.; Raghunath, Michael; Ferrer, Marc,

2022.

Enhancement of neuroglial extracellular matrix formation and physiological activity of dopaminergic neural cocultures by macromolecular crowding.

Cells.

11(14), pp. 2131.

Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11142131