Injectable hydrogels for therapeutic delivery
This technology is a biocompatible, low toxicity injectable hydrogel system that uses extracellular vesicles as bioactive crosslinkers for tissue regeneration.
Unmet Need: Injectable, biocompatible hydrogels for therapeutic purposes
Current injectable hydrogels for tissue engineering rely on synthetic materials that cannot host the biological signals needed for successful integration with the body. While these synthetic hydrogels can be chemically modified with signaling molecules, they are limited to displaying only a few signals at once, falling short of the scope of signals displayed in natural tissues. Extracellular vesicles have a capacity to hold a large quantity of signal molecules, but existing approaches to incorporating these into biomaterials use covalent crosslinking methods that require harsh chemical conditions, lack injectability, and are hard to control, thus limiting their clinical utility.
The Technology: Nanovesicle-based injectable hydrogels for therapeutic delivery
This technology is an injectable supramolecular hydrogel formed through dynamic crosslinking of extracellular vesicles derived from cheap and accessible sources like yogurt with hydrophobically modified cellulose polymers. The resulting hydrogel exhibits tunable mechanical properties, ideal shear-thinning behavior during injection and stimulate tissue regeneration. Mechanical properties can be controlled by adjusting polymer concentration, chain length, and degree of functionalization as well as vesicle concentration. The resulting hydrogel is a versatile, biocompatible system for regenerative medicine and localized therapeutic delivery.
This technology has been validated in vivo, promoting spontaneous angiogenesis and lymphoid response in immunocompetent mice.
Applications:
- Injectable drug delivery
- Cancer therapy
- Wound healing
- Immunotherapy
- Oral drug delivery
Advantages:
- Biocompatible and non-cytotoxic
- Utilizes low-cost material feedstocks
- Tunable mechanical properties
- Superior tissue regeneration compared to synthetic alternatives
- Versatile platform for localized therapeutic delivery
Lead Inventor:
Patent Information:
Patent Pending(WO/2026/090235)
Patent Pending([US63/844908])
Related Publications:
Tech Ventures Reference:
IR CU25086
Licensing Contact: Dovina Qu