Publications by authors named "Dounia Dems"
Controlling the assembly of high-order structures is central to soft-matter and biomaterial engineering. Angle-resolved linear dichroism can probe the ordering of chiral collagen molecules in the dense state. Collagen triple helices were aligned by solvent evaporation.
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- The arrangement of biomolecules in the extracellular matrix influences how cells behave, making it crucial to engineer biomaterials with precisely organized bioactive signals at the nanoscale.
- This study utilized a composite approach with peptide amphiphile (PA) nanofibers and silica nanoparticles, which can be easily modified to include various bioactive signals.
- By clustering specific bioactive signals on silica nanoparticles, the researchers enhanced fibroblast cell adhesion and spreading in composite hydrogels, demonstrating the effectiveness of using multiple integrin-binding sequences for improved cell behavior.
Rebuilding biological environments is crucial when facing the challenges of fundamental and biomedical research. Thus, preserving the native state of biomolecules is essential. We use electrospinning (ES), which is an extremely promising method for the preparation of fibrillar membranes to mimic the ECM of native tissues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCells respond to biophysical and biochemical signals. We developed a composite filament from collagen and silica particles modified to interact with collagen and/or present a laminin epitope (IKVAV) crucial for cell-matrix adhesion and signal transduction. This combines scaffolding and signaling and shows that local tuning of collagen organization enhances cell differentiation.
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