Engineering advanced middle ear tissues: where biomimicry of vibrating surfaces connects to optimal organ function

Hearing function occurs via vibrations, namely, via collection and transmission of sound waves. The anatomy of ear tissues is perfectly tuned from nano-to-macro scale, so as to accomplish a fine hearing. Ear pathologies pose challenging applications for micro-prosthetics in which biomaterial surfaces and biomaterial/tissue interfaces play key roles for device performance and integration. This study is aimed at developing biomimetic tissue-engineered substitutes, using fabrication techniques acting at different scale levels to overcome the drawbacks of current prostheses, such as extrusion or suboptimal performance.