University of Iowa researchers are finding success in growing human airway cells on engineered tissues, a promising development that could improve treatment options for patients whose airways have been damaged by birth defects, injury, cancer, or chronic diseases such as cystic fibrosis.

In the study, the research team found that a simple surface treatment improved the ability of human airway cells to attach, grow, and organize on 3D-printed, silk-based scaffolds. Creating materials that support the formation of a healthy, functional airway lining has been a longstanding challenge in tissue engineering.

"Our findings provide new insight into how surface properties influence airway cell behavior and may help guide the design of more effective engineered airway tissues," said Xuan Mu, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Iowa.

Mu, in collaboration with scholars from medicine, dentistry, chemistry, and engineering at the University of Iowa and California State University, Fresno, published the findings this month in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. 

Treating the silk scaffolds with low-temperature nitrogen plasma made their surfaces more "wettable," creating an environment that is more hospitable to airway cells. In testing, this led to higher cell densities and a more uniform layer of cells compared with untreated materials.

Importantly, the treatment altered only the surface of the scaffold while preserving the material's underlying properties. Both the 3D-printing process and plasma treatment can be performed at room temperature, offering a gentle and potentially scalable approach to developing next-generation biomaterials.

The research was supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, an NSF EPSCoR Chemurgy 2.0 Seed Grant, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, and the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust.