Project Details
Projekt
EVs for functionalization of polymers - new biohybrid materials for regenerative medicine in the head and neck surgery
Subject Area
Dentistry, Oral Surgery
Term
since 2023
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 516860159
The aim of this research project is to explore a proof-of-concept composite structure in the form of a textile structure (fleece), a porous structure (3D scaffold) and a hydrogel made of natural silk fibroin and EVs of native mesenchymal stem cells from dental pulp and adipose tissue for the regenerative approach in the neck-head area. The main focus is to evaluate the possibility of embedding native EVs in an absorbable biomaterial, to obtain the efficacy of the EVs and to investigate modes of action of this biohybrid material in vitro as well as in an ex vivo wound model. Initially, the characterization of EVs from dental pulp and adipose tissue will be performed. The aim is to compare different methods of isolating EVs and the properties of EVs from different sources. Subsequently, the combination of the EVs with biomaterial structures based on silk fibroin will be investigated. In addition to the complex fabrication of an electrospun filament from an EV-loaded silk fibroin solution and deposition into a nonwoven, the simpler approach of incorporating the EVs into a silk fibroin-based 3D scaffold, as well as a silk fibroin-based hydrogel in terms of an injectable hybrid system is also planned. It will be investigated whether the EVs are immobilized in the aforementioned support structures and whether a controlled release of EVs from the structures occurs over time. In addition, it will be determined whether the interaction of the EVs with cells in cell culture changes as a result of immobilization. Furthermore, it will be investigated whether the immobilization of the EVs or their controlled release from the carrier structures leads to a change and possibly intensification of the cell response with improvement of wound healing. To this end, the efficacy of the bioactive matrices and gel will be tested in various potency assays (including cytocompatibility and angiogenesis). Furthermore, the induced wound healing processes will be analyzed in human oral and cutaneous 3D in vitro and ex vivo wound models reflecting the in vivo situation.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
