I-Corps: Biodegradable Piezoelectric Cartilage Graft with Physical Exercise for Osteoarthritis Treatment

I-Corps：可生物降解的压电软骨移植物结合体育锻炼治疗骨关节炎

• 批准号: 2341853
• 负责人: Thanh Nguyen
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of Connecticut
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-11-15 至 2024-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2341853&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Biodegradable; Piezoelectric; Cartilage; Graft

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a biodegradable piezoelectric tissue scaffold for promoting cartilage healing. More than 32.5 million American adults suffer from osteoarthritis (OA), which is the most common chronic joint condition. Yet current medicines, including analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs, only alleviate symptoms but do not cure the disease. The golden treatment so far has been to use replacement cartilage autografts or allografts. These grafts, however, struggle with problems of donor site morbidity, immune rejection, infection, and limited tissue supply. Therefore, there is a strong customer need for technology that can promote the healing of cartilage and enhance OA treatment efficacy. Additionally, the current OA treatments are expensive, with an estimated annual cost of $16 000 per patient. As such, the increasing prevalence of osteoarthritis presents a substantial market opportunity for new treatments. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a biodegradable piezoelectric tissue scaffold made from electrospun poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) for use in cartilage repair. Currently, conventional piezoelectric materials such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and barium titanate are either toxic and/or non-degradable. These properties render them unfavorable for certain applications, such as for regenerative medicine, due to the safety concern and the requirement for invasive removal surgery. Unlike these materials, PLLA is an attractive alternative piezoelectric biomaterial as it is safe and biodegradable. However, it is challenging to process PLLA into an easy-to-use form with highly effective and stable piezoelectricity for practical applications. The proposed technology is based on a materials process to create biodegradable, flexible PLLA nanomembranes that possess a controllable and outstanding piezoelectric response. This piezoelectric nanomembrane may be a safe platform for a bioresorbable, battery-less tissue graft that is able to generate electrical charge to promote the healing of cartilage and enhance the efficacy of osteoarthritis treatment. Results show that the piezoelectric PLLA scaffold tested in critical-sized osteochondral defects in an animal model under applied joint-load during rehabilitation activities or doing exercise may act as a battery-free electrical stimulator to promote cartilage healing.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发可生物降解的压电组织支架来促进软骨愈合。超过3250万美国成年人患有骨关节炎（OA），这是最常见的慢性关节疾病。然而，当前的药物，包括镇痛药和抗炎药，仅减轻症状，但不能治愈该疾病。到目前为止，金色的疗法是使用替代软骨自体移植或同种异体移植物。但是，这些移植物在供体部位发病率，免疫排斥，感染和组织供应有限的问题上遇到困难。因此，有强大的客户需要技术，可以促进软骨的康复并提高OA治疗功效。此外，当前的OA治疗价格昂贵，估计每位患者的年成本为16 000美元。因此，骨关节炎的越来越流行为新疗法带来了巨大的市场机会。该I-Corps项目基于由电纺多聚-L-乳酸（PLLA）制成的可生物降解的压电组织支架的开发，用于软骨修复。当前，常规的压电材料，例如锆钛酸铅（PZT），聚偏二氟化物（PVDF）和钛酸钡是有毒和/或不可降解的。由于安全关注和对侵入性去除手术的要求，这些特性使它们不利于某些应用，例如再生医学。 与这些材料不同，PLLA是一种有吸引力的替代压电生物材料，因为它是安全且可生物降解的。但是，将PLLA处理成一种易于使用的形式是一项挑战，具有高效且稳定的压电为实用应用。 拟议的技术基于材料工艺，该工艺可以创建具有可控且出色的压电响应的可生物降解，柔性的PLLA纳米膜。这种压电纳米膜可以是可生物吸收，无电池的组织移植物的安全平台，能够产生电荷以促进软骨的愈合并增强骨关节炎治疗的疗效。 结果表明，在康复活动期间或进行运动期间，在动物模型下，在动物模型中以关键大小的骨软骨缺陷进行了测试的压电PLLA支架可能会充当无电池的电气刺激器，以促进软骨愈合。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，反映了通过评估的构成群体的构成群体的范围，并已被评估构成构成群体和奠基师的范围。