Engineered & chemically modified porous cellulose fibrous networks for controlled cell adhesion

As a naturally exploited material, cellulose has traditionally been used in clothing, paper manufacture and as a building material. However we will invetigate its use as a engineered substrate for tissue engineering. A conventional paper making process will be used to make controlled non-woven sheets of fibres with engineered porosity and fibre surfaces. Less conventional techniques such as electrospinning will also be used to deposit networks of fibres with controlled diameters. The surface of cellulose fibres themselves are not suitable for the attachment of cells and therefore we will investigate the use of enzymes and chemical modification to promote adhesion.