Control of cellular processes, biodegradation and mechanical properties of biomaterial scaffolds is critical in the development of tissue engineering devices. It is widely recognized that scaffold architecture, in particular, can profoundly influence the success of the construct. The advancement of bone tissue engineering strategies is strongly dependent on the development of high-porosity scaffolds that can withstand rigorous in vivo loading. The proposed research utilizes emulsion templating to generate novel microcellular polymers as injectable, biodegradable scaffolds for bone regeneration. Emulsion templating is a relatively new method for the production of highly porous scaffolds and involves the template polymerization of high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). The control of scaffold architecture afforded by emulsion templating makes polyHIPE materials attractive candidates for tissue engineering scaffolds. In addition, HIPEs can be made without solvent, have an emulsion viscosity that permits injectability, and cure at or around body temperature. We propose to tune the emulsion assembly processes to generate polyHIPE architectures with improved mechanical properties and target degradation profiles. We hypothesize that the high porosity and interconnectivity of these scaffolds will augment tissue regeneration by facilitating cellular in-growth, the influx of nutrients and the transport of waste throughout the scaffold.
The Specific Aims are: 1) Develop and characterize a library of injectable polyHIPE scaffolds with interconnected porosity. 2) Evaluate polyHIPE scaffolds developed in Aim 1 as osteoconductive tissue engineering scaffolds. Successful completion of these Aims will generate high porosity scaffolds that are both biodegradable and injectable. A highly porous scaffold that is injectable and cures in situ to suitable mechanical strength represents a significant advancement in orthopaedic tissue engineering. This innovative fabrication design also provides exceptional control over the architecture which can be utilized to probe key relationships in tissue regeneration. Although these studies are focused on bone repair, emulsion templating can be utilized to generate a wide variety of functional grafts.

Public Health Relevance

Nationwide Inpatient Statistics show that over 1.1 million surgical procedures involving the partial excision of bone, bone grafting, and inpatient fracture repair were performed in 2004 alone, with an estimated total cost of over $5 billion. Engineered tissue grafts have the potential to repair damaged tissues when traditional transplants are unavailable or fail. The proposed research utilizes emulsion templating to generate injectable, biodegradable scaffolds for the repair of bone defects.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
1R21AR057531-01A2
Application #
7990644
Study Section
Bioengineering, Technology and Surgical Sciences Study Section (BTSS)
Program Officer
Wang, Fei
Project Start
2010-07-01
Project End
2012-06-30
Budget Start
2010-07-01
Budget End
2011-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$185,899
Indirect Cost
Name
Texas Engineering Experiment Station
Department
Biomedical Engineering
Type
Schools of Engineering
DUNS #
847205572
City
College Station
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77845
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Robinson, Jennifer L; McEnery, Madison A P; Pearce, Hannah et al. (2016) Osteoinductive PolyHIPE Foams as Injectable Bone Grafts. Tissue Eng Part A 22:403-14
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Robinson, Jennifer L; Moglia, Robert S; Stuebben, Melissa C et al. (2014) Achieving interconnected pore architecture in injectable PolyHIPEs for bone tissue engineering. Tissue Eng Part A 20:1103-12
Moglia, Robert S; Whitely, Michael; Dhavalikar, Prachi et al. (2014) Injectable polymerized high internal phase emulsions with rapid in situ curing. Biomacromolecules 15:2870-8
Moglia, Robert S; Holm, Jennifer L; Sears, Nicholas A et al. (2011) Injectable polyHIPEs as high-porosity bone grafts. Biomacromolecules 12:3621-8