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OHSU # 2875 — A photocrosslinkable bone derived biomaterial for tissue engineering applications

Summary

Demineralized bone matrix has been widely used in the clinic to heal bone injuries due to its remarkable regenerative properties. However, this is not a material that can be synthesized in large batches, with highly reproducible chemistry, and cannot be set/polymerized in-situ for precise adaptation.  BoneMA is photopolymerizable material that is primarily composed of the bone extracellular matrix and is amenable to in situ polymerization. It also has been show to be more angiogenic and vasculogenic than other hydrogels in the field, while being amendable to controllable loading of cells or growth factors. This is a new class of bone-derived injectable and in-situ photocrosslinked hydrogels for bone regeneration.

Technology Overview

Despite the remarkable capacity of native tissue derived hydrogels to facilitate tissue regeneration and healing, their primary disadvantage as materials for tissue engineering remains their poor material properties and handling characteristics. BoneMA consists of demineralized and decellularized bone matrix proteins that have been chemically modified with photosensitive methacrylate groups to allow controlled polymerization in the presence of light to form structurally stable hydrogels while maintaining their intrinsic bioactive properties. BoneMA offers an additional advantage in that the material properties of the resultant hydrogel such as stiffness, degradability, and microporosity which are known to significantly influence cell behavior can be precisely and reproducibly controlled by modulating light exposure. The photopolymerizable aspect of BoneMA allows it to be applied in lieu of demineralized bone matrix as bone filler by in situ photocuring or microfabricated into architecturally complex constructs for bone grafts through 3D bioprinting. BoneMA can also either directly or in the form of microgels, be injected into site of repair for minimally invasive application. In vitro testing found that bioprinted BoneMA scaffolds supported cell viability and rapid formation of vascular networks. In summary, BoneMA capitalizes on the biological advantages of conventional bone-derived ECM proteins, while using photoresponsive chemistry to enable tailoring of mechanical and architectural features for the desired application. As such, BoneMA is a promising new hydrogel for investigations in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Publication

Selvakumar et al., “BoneMA – synthesis and characterization of methacrylated bone-derived hydrogel for bioprinting of in-vitro vascularized tissue contstructs.” Biofabrication 2020. Link

Licensing Opportunity

This technology is available for partnering and co-development.

Inventors:

• Luiz Bertassoni
• Avathamsa Athirasala

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