Biomedical Engineering graduate research seminar with Gelareh Ganjikho
Gelareh Ganjikho is an MASc candidate in the Biomedical Engineering Graduate program supervised by Professor Nima Maftoon and Professor Mohammad Kohandel.
Abstract
Standard two-dimensional cell cultures do not capture the complexity of the tumor environment, which is why drug responses measured in the lab often do not reflect what happens in patients. In prostate cancer, the tissue surrounding the tumor becomes increasingly stiff as the disease progresses, ranging from 2 to 50 kPa, and this stiffness directly affects how cancer cells grow, spread, and respond to treatment. Better three-dimensional models that reflect both the stiffness and the fibrous structure of prostate tumor tissue are therefore needed. In this study, we built composite scaffolds combining gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogels with short electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) fibers to create a 3D environment for growing prostate cancer cells. GelMA was prepared at two concentrations to achieve stiffnesses of 5 and 10 kPa, and PCL fibers were incorporated into the stiffer GelMA to produce a composite scaffold at 10 kPa. PC3 prostate cancer cells were labeled with a green live-cell dye and encapsulated in three scaffold groups before being exposed to 2 µM doxorubicin for 24 hours. Cell survival was measured using the Alamar Blue assay and confocal microscopy imaging to a depth of 2500 µm. At the same stiffness, cells in GelMA-PCL scaffolds survived better after doxorubicin exposure than cells in GelMA-only scaffolds. Imaging showed that the drug signal concentrated around the PCL fibers rather than reaching the cells, suggesting the fiber network physically slows drug movement through the scaffold and traps it before it can reach the cells. We also found that stiffer gels made cells more sensitive to the drug, likely because stiffer environments push cells to divide more actively. These results show that both the stiffness and the physical structure of a scaffold influence how cancer cells respond to chemotherapy. Incorporating fiber architecture alongside mechanical properties into 3D tumor models produces more realistic and informative drug testing platforms.
BME Grad Students: you are required to attend an average of four seminars per term as part of your degree requirements.