Provided herein are methods which alter the mechanical and biological properties of polymeric materials. Also provided are compositions comprising the polymeric materials having said properties.

A disposable device for absorbing urine and/or bodily fluids in the urethra having a cylindrical body having a top and bottom end. The body is made of absorbent material that expands upon contact with urine and bodily fluids and includes a string connected to the bottom end of the body for removing the device from the urethra. The device can include a vasodilator in or on a surface of the body and can be used to treat urinary incontinence and/or erectile dysfunction by inserting into the urethra and removing the device after it has been impregnated with fluid. The device can be included in a kit with a plunger for insertion.

There is provided a method of differentiating an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) into a renal proximal tubular cell (PTC)-like cell. The method comprises culturing an undifferentiated iPSC in a renal epithelial cell culture medium in the presence of one or more extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules, bone morphogenic protein 2 (BMP2) and bone morphogenic protein 7 (BMP7), for a period of from about 8 to about 10 days, under conditions sufficient to induce differentiation of the iPSC into a PTC-like cell. A cell population of differentiated PTC-like cells is also provided, as well as uses and methods of use of the cell population.

An organ for transplantation having a kidney, a ureter, and a urinary bladder and an organ structure in which a first ureter, a first urinary bladder, a second ureter and a second urinary bladder are sequentially connected to a kidney can produce urine and excrete the produced urine, and thus is useful for transplantation.

Described are methods, cell growth substrates, and devices that are useful in preparing cell-containing graft materials for administration to patients. Tubular passages can be defined in cell growth substrates to promote distribution of cells into the substrates. Also described are methods and devices for preparing cell-seeded graft compositions, methods and devices for preconditioning cell growth substrates prior to application of cells, and cell seeded grafts having novel substrates, and uses thereof.

Provided herein are synthetic, three-dimensional (3D) bioprinted tissue constructs comprising porcine cells and methods of producing and using the same. The synthetic 3D bioprinted tissue constructs are fabricated by bioprinting spheroids comprising porcine cells, including genetically engineered cells, on a microneedle mold and fusing the spheroids to form an engineered tissue construct. Also provided are methods of using scaffold-free 3D bioprinted tissue constructs for applications related to drug screening and toxicity screening.

Disclosed are tissue graft compositions made of particles having different densities, methods of making these compositions, and methods of using these compositions for promoting tissue restoration in a patient.

Primarily described are gel-forming systems, consisting of or comprising a composition (A), comprising one or several cationically crosslinkable polymer(s), and a composition (B), comprising one or several crosslinking agent(s) for crosslinking the cationically crosslinkable polymer(s) for use in a method for removing urinary calculi and/or fragments thereof, more particularly kidney stones and/or fragments thereof, from a region of the urinary tract, more particularly a kidney, that contains urinary calculi and/or fragments thereof, more particularly kidney stones and/or fragments thereof, that are to be removed, with the following steps: (i) providing the compositions (A) and (B), (ii) introducing the compositions (A) and (B) into a region of the urinary tract, more particularly the kidney, that contains urinary calculi and/or fragments thereof, more particularly kidney stones and/or fragments thereof, that are to be removed, under conditions enabling crosslinking of the cationically crosslinkable polymer(s) upon contact of composition (A) with composition (B) so that a crosslinked gel is formed that partly or fully surrounds the urinary calculi and/or fragments thereof, more particularly kidney stones and/or fragments thereof, that are to be removed, (iii) removing the crosslinked gel together with the urinary calculi and/or fragments thereof, more particularly kidney stones and/or fragments thereof, that are surrounded by it from the urinary tract, more particularly the kidney.

The present disclosure relates to the development of hydrogels with extreme stiffness and high-strength. In particular, an hydrogel comprising poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) and graphene material with a specific oxidation degree. The hydrogels of the present disclosure may be used in medicine, veterinary or cosmetic, namely as scaffold, cartilage, intervertebral disc and blood contact device such as: catheters, vascular grafts, heart valves, stents, artificial kidneys, artificial lungs, ventricular assist devices or drug delivery system. Uses in other areas can be envisaged, like in soft robotics, packaging, sealing and sensors.

Disclosed are tissue graft compositions made of particles having different densities, methods of making these compositions, and methods of using these compositions for promoting tissue restoration in a patient.