Elastic Fiber Matrices Biomimetic Approaches to Regeneration and Repair

Elastic Fiber Matrices: Biomimetic Approaches to Regeneration and Repair provides a comprehensive resource on the intrinsic and pathological aberrations of the complex process of elastic matrix assembly and/or variations thereof in different elastic tissue types, and on strategies to regenerate or restore lost elastin matrix, either in vitro or in vivo, including biomimetic elastin-like-peptides, gene therapy, drug delivery, tissue engineering (biomolecules, scaffolds, and mechanical stimuli), pharmacological approaches, elastin stabilization and preservation, stem cell therapy, allografts/xenografts, and synthetic/biological elastomers.

Comprised of individual chapters contributed by leading researchers and scientists in the field, the text details current approaches for elastin matrix regeneration and repair, identifying their various advantages and limitations while offering valuable insight into emerging trends. Thus, this book is a must-have guide for academicians and industry professionals working in the areas of connective tissue biology, tissue engineering, dermal and cardiovascular biomaterials, and drug delivery.

Assembly and Properties of Elastic Fibers. Pathology of the Elastic Matrix. Synthetic-Elastin Systems. Biomolecular Regulation of Elastic Matrix Regeneration and Repair. Scaffold and Biomechanical Transductive Approaches to Elastic Tissue Engineering. Pharmacologic Strategies for Preserving Elastic Matrix. Sourcing and Manipulating Stem Cells for Elastin Regeneration Applications. Regulating Elastogenesis Using Proteoglycans. Recent Approaches and Future Perspectives on Elastin Regeneration and Repair.

Anand Ramamurthi is an associate professor of molecular medicine and biomedical engineering at the Cleveland Clinic, with adjunct appointments at the University of Akron (Integrated Biosciences Program), and Case Western Reserve University (BME). In 1999, he earned his PhD in chemical engineering from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic funded by an award from the American Heart Association (AHA). Prior to 2010, Dr. Ramamurthi was a tenured faculty in the Departments of Bioengineering at Clemson University and Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, respectively. For the past 13 years, he has directed a research program that focuses on developing technologies for enabling biomimetic regeneration and repair of extracellular matrix (ECM) structures, specifically the poorly regenerated elastic matrix component, both in vitro, and in situ at sites of chronic matrix disruption (e.g., aortic aneurysms and pelvic organ prolapse). His research has resulted in several book chapters, 50 peer-reviewed publications in top journals in the biomaterials, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine fields, nearly 200 conference abstracts and proceedings, and several awarded and filed patents. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), AHA, and industry. Dr. Ramamurthi is a member of several international professional societies in the cardiovascular sciences, biomaterials, and tissue engineering fields. He is a professional member of the AHA Council on arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology, and is an elected fellow of the AHA Council on basic cardiovascular sciences. He serves on several national committees such as that of the North American Vascular Biology Organization, on the editorial board of several scientific journals in the