Project Details
Abstract
Rapid progress in biomaterial science has greatly contributed to the fabrication of a
variety of tissue-engineered replacements. Traditionally, direct injection of isolated cell
suspensions into the body site has been used for repopulation of the damaged tissue, but the
transplantation method has a major drawback such as difficult control of the distribution and
size of cell grafts. Although biomaterial scaffold can act as a template for guiding cell
organization, the delivery of cell-polymer constructs is more invasive than cell injection. It
appears that the thermo-responsive and biodegradable polymers can combine the merits of
both materials, facilitating the design of new injectable dosage forms for effective cell
delivery. Inflammation and neovascularization has been associated with the dysfunction of
retinal pigment epithelium due to age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.
This project aims to address the drawbacks of existing intraocular cell delivery systems
by developing RGD-modified gelatin-N-isopropylacrylamide (GN) copolymers containing
insulin-loaded poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles (insulin-loaded PLGA NPs) as
injectable scaffolds for retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) regenerative medicine. In the first
year, a study will be performed on the preparation, characterization, and biocompatibility
assessment of biomaterial carriers. The next year will focus on the investigation of cellular
structure and function of RPE grafts and drug biodistribution. In the final year of the study,
the tissue reconstruction in a rabbit model will be examined after intraocular grafting of cells
using RGD-modified GN copolymer hydrogels containing insulin-loaded PLGA NPs. It is
expected that the proposed delivery system in this project will be beneficial in helping people
who are experiencing vision loss.
Project IDs
Project ID:PB10007-0369
External Project ID:NSC100-2221-E182-015
External Project ID:NSC100-2221-E182-015
Status | Finished |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 01/08/11 → 31/07/12 |
Keywords
- gelatin
- N-isopropylacrylamide
- poly(lactide-co-glycolide)
- insulin
- injectable cell scaffolds
- retinal tissue engineering
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