The Crone Laboratory
Faculty > Wendy C. Crone
Wendy C. Crone
Professor, Engineering Physics; Biomedical Engineering; Materials Science and Engineering
Aligned Research Focus: My area of research expertise is in experimental mechanics. My interests are focussed on improving fundamental understanding of mechanical response of materials, improving material behavior through surface modification and nanostructuring, and developing new applications and devices. In recent years my research has moved strongly in the direction of biomaterials and medical devices.
Research Description
A recent project that I have begun with Profs. Tim Kamp and Kristyn Masters involves the response of stem cells to a surrounding three-dimensional hydrogel matrix. The objective of this research is to test the influence of hydrogel material properties and mechanical stimulation on the differentiation of stem cells. Hydrogels have been shown to have promise for a range of biomaterials and biomedical device applications, including cell scaffolding, artificial tissues, wound repair, drug delivery, and microfluidic devices. Our work will ultimately impact the development of tissue-engineered constructs for cardiac repair. It has been demonstrated that embryonic stem cells can be placed in the heart and aid in repair, however there are a number of open issues including holding cells in place in the heart and facilitating their survival and development into useful tissue. Hydrogels hold substantial promise for addressing these
issues, but proper materials selection and materials design to optimize of the cell-hydrogel interactions is required before a viable treatment option can be developed. Our research aims focus on engineering hydrogel materials with mechanical properties consistent with cardiac tissue, exploring the impact of hydrogel stiffness on differentiation of hESCs, and investigating the influence of applied stress on differentiation of hESCs.
F. Xu, J.C. Nacker, W.C. Crone, K.S. Masters, “The haemocompatibility of polyurethane–hyaluronic acid copolymers,” Biomaterials, 29(2), 150-160 (2008).
B.D. Johnson, J.M. Bauer, D.J. Niedermaier, W.C. Crone, and D.J. Beebe, “Experimental Techniques for Mechanical Characterization of Hydrogels at the Microscale,” Experimental Mechanics, 44(1) 21-28 (2004).
G.J. Martínez-Díaz, D. Nelson, W.C. Crone, and W.J. Kao, “Mechanical and Chemical Analysis of Degradation in Gelatin-Based Hydrogel,” Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 204 (15), p.1898-1908 (2003).
C. Khoury, T. Adalsteinsson, B.D. Johnson, W.C. Crone, D.J. Beebe, “Tunable Microfabricated Hydrogels – A Study in Protein Interaction and Diffusion,” Biomedical Microdevices, 5:1, 35-45 (2003).
S.K. De, N.R. Aluru, B. Johnson, W. C. Crone, D.J. Beebe, and J. Moore, "Equilibrium Swelling and Kinetics of pH-Responsive Hydrogels: Models, Experiments, and Simulations," Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 11 (5), 544 -555 (2002).