Biomaterials
Provide ALL answers in typed format. The response for each question should be no longer
than 1 typed page (11pt font minimum).
1. [25pts total] You are designing a scaffold for bone tissue engineering. You have modified a
polymer with two different surface treatments (A and B). You then seed equal number of
osteoblasts (bone-forming cells) on discs of the samples with the two different surface
modifications. After 2 weeks, you perform two assays:
i) Calcium production, which is done by adding a reagent that reacts with calcium to produce a
color and reading the absorbance at 650 nm. You also run standards at 650 nm for comparison,
using the principles of Beer-Lambert’s law. The standards and the experimental results are found
below:
Standards:
Calcium
(ug)
Absorbance
(arbitrary
units)
0 0.12
1.56 0.15
3.125 0.22
6.25 0.35
12.5 0.52
25 0.79
50 1.31
100 2.49
Experimental results:
A absorbance = 0.88
B absorbance = 0.26
ii) DNA content (an indicator of cell number), which is done by adding a reagent that reacts with
DNA to produce a signal and reading the absorbance at 530 nm. You also run standards at 530 nm
for comparison, using the principles of Beer-Lambert’s law. The standards and the experimental
results are found below:
DNA
(pg)
Absorbance
(arbitrary
units)
0 0.1
1.5 0.32
3 0.72
6.25 1.31
12.5 2.12
Experimental results:
A absorbance = 0.93
B absorbance = 0.86
BME 318: Biomaterials
Fall 2015
Homework Set 3: DUE 11/16/15 at 4:30pm
a. [15pts] Using the raw data, determine how much calcium and DNA (an indicator of cell #) is
present on each sample after two weeks. MUST SHOW ALL WORK (this includes any graphs and
trendline equations)
b. [5pts] Based on your calculations above, which surface modification technique would be better
for greater bone formation in the body – A or B?
c. [5pts] You now want to modify the surface to improve osteoblast migration. Which cellular
function should you target (why) and describe what type of modification you will incorporate? You
should justify your answer in the context of the intended application (bone tissue engineering).
2. [25pts total] Refer to the attached article by van Putten et al. to respond to the questions below.
NOTE the entire response for this question should not exceed 1 typed page (11pt font).
a. [10pts] Compare and contrast the attributes of a type-1 and type-2 macrophage.
b. [5pts] What key markers of M1 and M2 were validated in the in vitro studies?
c. [10pts] Summarize the key finding(s) of this study.
3. (25pts total) Researchers are interested in determining the host response to two different
biomaterials: polypropylene and thermoplastic poly(carbonate) urethane (TPU). Two
experiements were conducted: 1) investigation of total granuloma size at two time points (7 and 21
days) and 2) assessment of total macrophage count around the biomaterial. The biomaterials were
implanted subcutaneously in rats.
a. (5pts)Describe the results from Figure A. What significant differences are there? What do
they mean?
b. (5pts) Describe the results from Figure B. What significant differences are there? What do
they mean?
c. (2pts) For both Figure A and B, what statistical test was most likely conducted?
d. (5pts) Based on Part A and B, which biomaterial would you recommend using and why?
e. (8pts) What are two additional experiments that you would conduct to further investigate
the host’s response to implantation? Include the independent variable, dependent variable,
and added value (importance) of running the experiment.
Figure B: Percentage of Positive
Cells. Data presented are means
with SEM. Significance stars
indicate p<0.05.
Figure A. Granuloma sizes in µm.
Data presented are means with SEM.
No significant differences were seen
between any of the groups or time
points.