SHORT DESCRIPTION Biomaterial scaffold for neural cell culture and therapeutic implants that harnesses bioactive, conductive, and antioxidant properties to boost neural cell viability and maturation.
NU 2023-217
IP STATUS
US Patent pending (18/941,862)
DEVELOPMENT STAGE
TRL-4 Prototype Validated in Lab: Core functions have been demonstrated in cell culture experiments, confirming the basic proof-of-concept.
BACKGROUND Injuries to the brain and spinal cord, including spinal cord injury, stroke, and traumatic brain injury, and to peripheral nerves can cause permanent loss of nerve cells and long-term disability because damaged neural tissue has very limited ability to repair itself. Current treatment approaches include surgery, rehabilitation, supportive care, but these options often do not rebuild damaged neural networks or restore function in a durable way. Cell therapy and/or growth-factor delivery has the potential to address these shortcomings, where cells delivered to the injured site can directly replace damaged neurons and secrete neurotrophic factors to promote regeneration of native cells and promote or direct neuron growth. However, these experimental regenerative approaches also face practical limitations: transplanted cells often do not survive well after delivery, growth factors break down quickly or spread away from the target site, and many scaffold materials provide structural support without giving cells the biological and electrical signals needed for better recovery. There is a clear unmet need for novel scaffolds for electrogenic cells (neurons and cardiomyocytes) that combine physical support, cell-guiding biological signals, and electrical activity to enable these next-generation therapeutic approaches.
ABSTRACT Northwestern researchers have developed a printable peptide amphiphile(PA)-based scaffold that integrates laminin-mimetic peptides, a conductive polymer, and a supportive polysaccharide matrix. The specially designed conductive polymer consisted of an electrically conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) derivative that is more biocompatible than commercially available materials, which boosted efficacy of the scaffold. In vitro studies show that this scaffold improved neuron growth, branching, maturation, and electrical function in both mouse and human neural cells compared to control materials. The conductive polymer component was also shown to reduce reactive oxygen species known to build up after neural injury, and this effect was linked to improved maturation-related signaling in neurons. The researchers also found that extrusion printing of the material aligns the bioactive filaments to mimic natural neural tissue structure, which guided neuron orientation and is highly relevant to rebuilding organized neural tissue and for interfacing with bioelectronic devices. The bioactive and conductive composite can easily be integrated into hydrogel bioinks that can be 3D printed for anatomical implants or complex 3D cell culture. This novel technology is a multifunctional platform that may address significant gaps in neural repair, neural cell therapy, and neuro-bioelectronic applications.
APPLICATIONS
ADVANTAGES
PUBLICATIONS
CATEGORY/INDUSTRY PIPELINE Therapeutics; Biomarkers & Biomedical Research Tools; Healthcare Devices, Tools & IT
KEYWORDS Scaffold, bioactive hydrogel, neural cell culture, conductive polymer, antioxidant scaffold, extrusion printing, peptide amphiphile, gellan gum, regenerative medicine, neurology, CNS, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, cerebrovascular accident, self-assembly, biomaterial, functional material