@article {20123,
	title = {Microparticles and Hydrogels for Ischemic Stroke Imaging and Recovery},
	journal = {1st Discoveries Forum on Regenerative and Precision Medicine},
	year = {2019},
	month = {2019-09-25 00:00:00},
	address = {Porto},
	abstract = {<p>Stroke patients suffer impairments for life, as current treatments are mostly palliative and offer unsatisfactory results regarding brain regeneration<sup>1</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>2</sup>. The present work aims to develop an approach for Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) transplantation that makes use of injectable hydrogels, namely Mn<sup>2+</sup>-crosslinked Thiolated Hyaluronic Acid and methacrylated Gellan Gum. The cell-laden hydrogels will aid neural repair, while Mn<sup>2+</sup> incorporation will allow their MRI imaging and investigate their fate <em>in vivo</em>. Growth-factor loaded Nanoparticles will be added to the hydrogels to support host/transplanted cells. These scaffolds will be tested in an animal model of stroke, obtained by microparticles (MPs) containing Mn<sup>2+</sup>/iron-oxide, which will be injected to produce an artificial brain clog for 30 minutes, originating a stroke-like injury. The MPs were injected through catheters of two sizes without clogging and maintained their shape. The MRI analysis showed that Mn<sup>2+</sup>/Iron-oxide are good candidates for MRI contrasts, as from 0.5 to 2 mg/mL they produced a signal in T1/T2. Future work will consist on optimizing its release rate, the analysis of hydrogel{\textquoteright}s mechanical properties and their biocompatibility with MSCs.</p>},
	keywords = {Biomaterials, MRI, Stem cells, Stroke, Tissue engineering},
	doi = {0000000},
	author = {Oliveira, E. P. and Silva-Correia, J. and Kalkowski, L. and Malysz-Cymborska, I. and Golubczyk, D. and Kwiatkowska, A. and Walczak, P. and Reis, R. L. and Oliveira, J. M.}
}
