https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-022-00733-0
Regular Article
A hydrogel-based phantom of the brain tissue aimed at modelling complex metabolic transport processes
1
Laboratory of Organic Synthesis, Kursk State University, Radishcheva st. 33, 305000, Kursk, Russia
2
Research Center for Condensed Matter Physics, Kursk State University, Radishcheva st. 33, 305000, Kursk, Russia
3
Saint-Petersburg State Research Institute of Phthisiopulmonology, Lygovsky av. 2-4, 191036, Saint Petersburg, Russia
4
Faculty of Medicine, Saint-Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya emb 7-9, 199034, Saint Petersburg, Russia
5
N. P. Bechtereva Institute of the Human Brain of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Akad. Pavlov st., 9, 197376, Saint Petersburg, Russia
6
Department of Theoretical Physics, Kursk State University, Radishcheva st., 305000, Kursk, Russia
7
Institute of Physics, Saratov State University, Astrakhanskaya st. 83, 410012, Saratov, Russia
Received:
3
October
2022
Accepted:
28
November
2022
Published online:
9
December
2022
Amongst the modern problems of brain physiology, special attention is drawn to the transport processes in the brain’s extracellular space, which are crucial for understanding metabolic exchange, waste clearance, etc. At the same time, the complexity of direct registration of such processes in vivo forms a demand for developing artificial phantoms with properties resembling the brain’s parenchyma as models suited for testing different physical approaches to describing the respective spread of substances. Here we describe a novel hydrogel material with composition and structure adjusted to this goal. The phantom comprises a collagen network with the addition of lipids and catches water content close to that of the brain. The results of electron microscopy and computer tomography studies as well as exploration of peculiarities of the fluorescent marker spread argue that this compound material is prospective for its use for mimicking the brain’s tissue.
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