Acellular / Smart Materials - 3D Architecture: UK RMP Hub

We have identified a significant unmet need for improved therapies to treat tissue degenerative diseases and injuries in eye, liver and musculoskeletal tissue. These conditions represent a considerable obstacle to health and quality of life, as well as a staggering burden to the economy. We will combine the expertise of world-leading UK research groups to design and manufacture innovative biomaterials and drug delivery strategies to develop the needed therapies. Importantly, the focus will be on accelerating the process of translating our scientific discoveries and advances into real-world applications. Our strategy stems from research on smart materials for specific clinical applications in eye, liver and musculoskeletal repair. We will investigate a range of highly innovative materials that can be tailored according to the specific clinical needs. We will develop exciting smart technologies where implanted materials will react to internal or external stimuli to, for example, release drugs that improve wound healing and reduce inflammation, or growth factors to enhance the regeneration of damaged or lost tissue. We will design flexible material platforms that can be easily modified to achieve a wide range of complex functionalities. We will introduce advanced manufacturing routes to produce materials that mimic the complex structure and multi-functionality of biological tissues. For applications in eye repair, we will develop injectable polymer sheets embedded with cells that would simultaneously replace lost retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptors which cause visual impairment. We will also build 3D tissue engineered constructs for corneal repair. For our work on musculoskeletal tissue, we will develop injectable materials and 3D printed scaffold materials to repair fractures and defects in long bones, for example the tibia. The structure of the scaffolds will be designed to support and increase bone formation while embedded nanoparticles will be used for controlled delivery of growth factors. Our second target in the musculoskeletal tissue is shoulder rotator cuff repair where we have already novel electrospun material technologies in clinical trials. Here, we will improve these materials by introducing bioresponsive cues to regulate the activity of cells, modulate inflammation, enhance the formation of blood vessels and promote tissue growth. For osteoarthritis treatment, we will develop 3D constructs with controlled gradients that promote physical organisation of cartilage resulting in a more native-like functional material. The third clinical application targeted in this project is liver repair. We will aim to improve transplantation therapies by focussing on three promising pathways: 1) extending graft life-time using microparticles for localised delivery of immunomodulatory compounds, 2) enhancing cell engraftment with localised release of growth factors, and 3) developing innovative anti-fibrosis materials, including gels, patches and sprays. Importantly, we will complement our development pipeline with research on materials safety and immune response. Through the UKRMP2 Acellular Hub we will steer our research towards applications with high success potential in alignment to identified clinical needs, manufacturing feasibility, regulatory compliance and product safety assurance.