Project leader: dr Hristina Obradović
Project collaborators:
dr Ivana Okić-Đorđević, Dragana Aleksandrović, Sanja Momčilović, Ivana Gazikalović (external team member), Nikola Jeftić (external team member)
Project number: 11073
Duration of the project: 2024 –2026
Leading Institution: Institute for medical research, University of Belgrade
Collaborating institutions:
Innovation Center, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy; University of Belgrade
Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia
Description of the project:
Despite their safety and feasibility for patients, existing breast reconstruction techniques following mastectomy carry the risk of potential complications, and do not significantly alter the likelihood of disease recurrence compared to mastectomy alone. Hence, these factors must be considered when evaluating the available breast reconstruction options post-mastectomy. The field of tissue engineering has been intensively growing primarily focusing on crafting diverse scaffolds that act as templates for tissue regeneration. For nearly a century, the amniotic membrane (AM) of the placenta has been utilized in skin and cornea regeneration, and numerous studies have demonstrated its antitumor, antifibrotic, antiinflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. AmnioPrintCare aims to develop the scaffold biomaterial using human AM homogenate that will preserve and exhibit its regenerative and antitumor effects over an extended period when applied. By establishing advanced 3D bioprinting techniques for scaffold fabrication, AmnioPrintCare will enable more accessible and personalized regenerative medicine practices in breast reconstruction. To achieve that, by using different technological methods and advanced 3D software and bioprinter, we will establish 3D printed bioscaffold based on hAM. Also, we will confirm its biocompatibility with the breast tissue niche cells and its regenerative potential in vitro related to adipogenesis and angiogenesis along with the antitumor effect towards breast cancer cell lines. We will further evaluate its regenerative and antitumor effect upon transplantation in mice. This interdisciplinary project will bring advancement in biotechnology that will lead to improvements in biomedicine and provide basis for better healthcare and survival rate among patients, novelties in the medical and biotechnological education, and improvement of biotech industry in Serbia as it could patent the new ‘’bioink’’ for commercially available bioprinters.