Trimethylamine oxide-supplemented culture medium for growing cartilaginous tissues

This technology is a trimethylamine oxide-supplemented medium to optimize the development of engineered cartilage in cell culture.

Unmet Need: Culture medium for promoting collagen levels in engineered cartilage

Though tissue engineering holds great promise for patients suffering from osteoarthritis, engineered cartilage typically lacks sufficient mechanical properties due to sub-native collagen levels. The media often used to grow cartilaginous tissue fails to promote collagen growth and maintenance.

The Technology: Trimethylamine oxide-supplemented culture medium enhances functional development of engineered cartilage

This technology encompasses the use of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) to enhance the properties of engineered cartilage tissue. TMAO is a natural osmolyte commonly found in various saltwater creatures, and has been shown to induce protein folding, helping to increase and preserve optimal collagen levels in tissues. Supplementation of tissue culture medium with TMAO is a simple method to enhance collagen content and mechanical properties of engineered cartilage in vitro.

The addition of TMAO to culture media has been shown to augment other collagen-enhancing approaches resulting in more functionally competent engineered cartilage grafts, and a dose-dependent increase in collagen content and mechanical strength were observed in cartilage grafts cultured in TMAO-supplemented media

Applications:

• Cartilage replacement in trauma or osteoarthritis
• Collagenous tissue grafts
• Research tool for studying collagenous tissues
• Regulation of osmotic pressure in tissue engineered scaffold systems or dialysis solutions

Advantages:

• Easily incorporated into existing culture protocols to enhance collagen synthesis of engineered cartilaginous tissue
• Complementary to existing methods for enhancing cartilage mechanical properties
• Provides a method for treating cartilage tissue defects with mechanically functional grafts

Lead Inventor:

Clark Hung, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Status

Related Publications:

• O’Connell GD, Fong JV, Dunleavy N, Joffe A, Ateshian GA, Hung CT. “Trimethylamine N-oxide as a media supplement for cartilage tissue engineering” J Orthop Res. 2012 Dec; 30(12): 1898-905.

Tech Ventures Reference:

• IR 2823

• Licensing Contact: Dovina Qu