Collaboration visit in Basel

In the period 16 – 21 November, 2025, Phoenix-OoC project team from the Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad (FTN) visited Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, Switzerland (UNIBAS).

Participants from UNIBAS:

• Senior Research Scientist Valentina Basoli, Swiss Medical Additive Manufacturing Group at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, Switzerland,
• MSc Cosimo Loffreda, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, Switzerland,
• Laboratory technician Cecilia Bärtschi, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, Switzerland

Participants from FTN:

• PhD assistant professor Sanja Kojić, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad Serbia,
• Laboratory technician Igor Putnik, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia,
• Laboratory technician Nastasija Malivuk, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia

The program for FTN visit was organized to cover all essential steps in preparing, analyzing, and testing materials and biological components for ongoing projects. Across the week, the activities included planning sessions, sterilization of materials, and detailed imaging using SEM and Leica systems to assess grid scaffolds and remaining samples after treatment. Cell culture work played a major role, involving medium changes for toxicity studies, detaching and seeding cells, and evaluating viability through submerged sterilized materials and later a cell titer assay. Contact angle measurements of sterilized materials and controls were performed to characterize surface properties. A significant portion of the program focused on assembling and working on the organ-on-chip system, including preparing all components, potential hydrogel seeding, and continued development over consecutive days. Additional training, such as AFM operation, further supported the analytical aspects of the work. The visit concluded with a summary meeting to review progress and outcomes from all completed tasks.