Smart optical and sensors and fully synthetic hydrogels to advance tumor modelling on-chip
The aim of this project is to develop innovative animal-free hydrogel matrices functionalized with luminescent molecular optical sensors, to monitor pH and oxygen levels in 3D, and to demonstrate the applicability of this multi-parametric sensing hydrogel in a tumor-on-chip device to map spatial and temporal variations of such parameters. To achieve this ambitious goal, we will develop three work packages (WP):
WP1: Molecular sensors
We will synthesize, characterize and optimize innovative luminescent molecular sensors for oxygen and pH levels, that can be covalently conjugated to hydrogel building blocks.
WP2: Synthetic sensing hydrogels
We will develop animal-free hydrogels, in which the molecular sensors are covalently conjugated, and their sensing performance towards pH and oxygen are characterized in 3D.
WP3: On-chip validation
We will validate the applicability of the sensing animal-free hydrogel matrices, in a tumor-on-chip, to map in 3D gradients in pH and oxygen across the bioengineered tumor tissue.
