Prof. Groll received his Ph.D. from the RWTH Aachen University with summa com laude in 2005. From 2005 to 2009, he worked in industry in the field of functional coatings and biocomposite materials. In parallel, he built up a research group on polymeric biomaterials at the DWI Interactive Materials Research Institute in Aachen. Since 2010 he holds the chair for Functional Materials in Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Würzburg. His research interest comprises applied polymer chemistry for life sciences, biomimetic scaffolds, immunomodulation, nanobiotechnology, and biofabrication.
Topic title：Modulating the reaction of human immune cells to 3D printed scaffolds
Abstract：The immune cell reaction on biomaterials is an important research field in the devel-opment of new materials for medical applications. Innate immune cells are the first that come in contact with the implanted biomaterialTo prevent a proinflammatory reaction, different approaches can be used, like modification of surface chemistry or topography, and especially tailored 3D design of scaffolds that are nowadays possible with modern 3D printing approaches. In our study we use the technology of Melt Electro Writing (MEW) to produce 3-dimensional polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds with specific geometries to influence the behaviour of blood derived primary human immune cells. Therefore, we tested different pore geometries, like box-, triangle- and round-shaped ones and also assessed surface coatings. This talk will present our recent findings on how 3D geometries, together with surface modification, can be exploited to direct the reaction of human immune cells to 3D scaffolds.