Engineering Human Tissues for Medical Impact

Description

This session will introduce students to the field of tissue engineering. They will learn the principles behind how biological tissues are made in labs and what cutting-edge research is happening today. We will conduct a bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay, which is a colorimetric assay used in laboratory settings to quantify total protein in a biological sample. Completing this assay provides a great opportunity for students to gain the practical skill of using micropipettes- which are tools widely used across many scientific fields. To conduct the BCA assay, the two given reagents will be mixed together in a particular ratio to make a ‘working reagent’. The working reagent will then be added to the samples and standards in a 96 well plate. The samples will turn a purple color after a few minutes, allowing the students to estimate how much protein is in each sample by comparing it to a standard curve. This will also help to hone their abilities to follow protocols, analyze data, and draw conclusions from their experimental results, all of which are skills necessary to becoming a tissue engineer.