Doctoral candidate
Pharmacist
Contact
Institut für Pharmazeutische Technologie und Biopharmazie
Technische Universität Braunschweig
Mendelssohnstraße 1
38106 Braunschweig
E-Mail: antonia.wittmann(at)tu-braunschweig.de
Room: 132C
Telephone: +49 531 391-5659
Field of work
Development of a 3D cell culture model using bioprinting for bioavailability studies of ophthalmic drugs
Due to their organotypic features, complex 3D cell culture models can often predict the behavior of drugs in vivo better than 2D models, but standardization remains challenging. Bioprinting offers a strategy with increased efficiency to produce these models and could also improve their reproducibility.
The development focuses on production and characterization of a tissue model of the cornea as a physiological barrier for the transport of drugs into the anterior segment of the eye. The intended application is the pharmacokinetic evaluation of ophthalmic drugs. The model is being developed based on an already established hemicornea model [1,2], but incorporates bioprinting into the production process.
A second part of the work deals with the integration of the immune cell line THP-1 into a model of the cornea for the investigation of new therapies for inflammatory diseases of the ocular surface such as DED (Dry Dye Disease). [3]
Figure created in BioRender.com
References
[1] Hahne, Matthias; Reichl, Stephan (2011): Development of a serum-free human cornea construct for in vitro drug absorption studies: the influence of varying cultivation parameters on barrier characteristics. In: International journal of pharmaceutics 416 (1), S. 268–279. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2011.07.004.
[2] Hahne, Matthias; Zorn-Kruppa, Michaela; Guzman, Gustavo; Brandner, Johanna M.; Haltner-Ukomado, Eleonore; Wätzig, Hermann; Reichl, Stephan (2012): Prevalidation of a human cornea construct as an alternative to animal corneas for in vitro drug absorption studies. In: Journal of pharmaceutical sciences 101 (8), S. 2976–2988. DOI: 10.1002/jps.23190.
[3] Voß, Silja; Behrmann, Till; Reichl, Stephan (2023): Development of In Vitro Dry Eye Models to Study Proliferative and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Allogeneic Serum Eye Drops. In: International journal of molecular sciences 24 (2). DOI: 10.3390/ijms24021567.