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Faculty of Graduate Studies

Aynaz Saket Balgouri

  • BSc (University of Guilan, 2014)

Notice of the Final Oral Examination for the Degree of Master of Applied Science

Topic

Developing Electroconductive Microcarriers for Cell Manufacturing

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Date & location

  • Friday, June 27, 2025

  • 1:00 P.M.

  • Virtual Defence

Reviewers

Supervisory Committee

  • Dr. Mohsen Akbari, Department of Mechanical Engineering, ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ (Supervisor)

  • Dr. Sravya Tekumalla, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UVic (Member) 

External Examiner

  • Dr. Rishi Gupta, Department of Civil Engineering, ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ 

Chair of Oral Examination

  • Dr. Ulrike Stege, Department of Computer Science, UVic

     

Abstract

The development of electroconductive biomaterials is critical for engineering functional tissues, particularly those composed of electrically excitable cells such as skeletal muscle, cardiac, and neural tissues. Traditional hydrogels often lack electrical conductivity, limiting their ability to support key physiological processes such as cell proliferation, alignment, and differentiation. This thesis presents the design, fabrication, and biological evaluation of novel electroconductive microcarriers based on gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA), integrated with either choline-based bio-ionic liquids (BILs) or poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), providing ionic and electronic conductivity, respectively.

Microfluidic flow focusing was employed to fabricate monodisperse microcarriers with controlled size and tunable composition. Material characterization demonstrated that increasing the concentration of either BIL or PEDOT:PSS significantly enhanced the electrical conductivity of the hydrogels. Specifically, conductivity measurements showed a maximum of 0.663 S/m for GelMA hydrogels containing 5% BIL (GB-7-5), and 0.90 S/m at 1 mA and 3.63 S/m at 10 mA for hydrogels containing 2% PEDOT:PSS (GP-7-2), confirming improved conductive performance with higher additive content.

Biological assays using C2C12 murine myoblasts demonstrated that both conductive microcarrier types promoted significantly better cell adhesion and proliferation compared to non-conductive controls. Live/dead, trypan blue/PrestoBlue staining confirmed high viability (>85%) across all formulations. Immunofluorescence imaging revealed elongated nuclei in conductive groups, especially in high-conductivity formulations. Flow cytometry further showed enhanced Myosin Heavy Chain (MyHC) expression, indicating improved myogenic differentiation, with up to a 1.5-fold increase observed in conductive groups.

Overall, this thesis demonstrates that combining ionic and electronic conductive strategies with GelMA-based microcarriers offers a flexible, biocompatible, and functional platform for engineering electro-responsive tissues. The results lay the groundwork for future integration with dynamic electrical stimulation systems and suggest broad potential for applications in muscle regeneration, bioelectronic medicine, and cell manufacturing platforms.

Keywords: Electroconductive biomaterials, Gelatin Methacryloyl (GelMA), PEDOT:PSS, Bio-Ionic liquid, tissue engineering, microcarriers, myogenic differentiation, regenerative medicine.

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