Afifa Arif
Biomedical engineering
Hometown: Dhaka, Dhaka, BD
Graduation date: Spring 2028
FURI | Fall 2026, Needs Review
Decellularized Plant Tissue as a Sustainable Scaffold for 3D Human Tissue Regeneration: A Comparative Study of Multiple Plant-Derived Extracellular Matrices
Tissue engineering requires scaffolds that mimic the extracellular matrix, yet synthetic scaffolds typically lack native vascular architecture and animal-derived scaffolds risk immune rejection. Decellularized plant tissue, stripped of its cells, offers a low-cost, biocompatible alternative, but most studies examine spinach alone. This project decellularizes spinach leaf, apple flesh, and leek stem under one identical detergent protocol. Cell removal is verified by DNA quantification and fluorescent nuclear staining, and scaffold architecture is compared using optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and image analysis. The results will establish a standardized benchmark the field currently lacks for selecting plant scaffolds, advancing animal-free materials for human tissue regeneration.
Mentor: Vincent Pizziconi
It’s hip to be square.
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