OPTIMAS Research in the Greater Region

Physicists Prof. Dr. Christiane Ziegler and Dr. Christine Müller-Renno are pleased about the approval of the collaborative project "IMPROVE-STEM: Interreg project developing new bioMaterials for PROliferation and in Vitro Expansion of STEM cells". In addition to the University of Kaiserslautern, the consortium of this Interreg-V-A project of the Greater Region includes research facilities from Lorraine, Luxembourg, Wallonia, and Saarland. The budget for the whole project is EUR 2.8 million, of which EUR 1.7 million is funded by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund), as the project will contribute to increasing the competitiveness and attractiveness of the Greater Region.

The main focus of the project is on so-called mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which can differentiate into specialized cells and behave as intelligent drugs with anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties. For the in vitro cell multiplication, the MSCs are to be cultured in a bioreactor on the surface of polymer micro particles. However, detachment of viable MSCs from commercially available micro particles is very difficult. IMPROVE-STEM is therefore developing innovative micro particles that allow to control the adhesion behavior of the MSCs as a function of the cultivation stage.

More information can be found here