Prof. Dr. Matin Mahmoudifard

Alexander von Humboldt Fellow (Visiting researcher from Institute for genetic engineering and biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, Iran)

Functionalized Polyvinyl alcohol/Chitosan Electrospun Nanofibers: Multifunctional Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

 Collaborators: Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini, Dr. Rainer Detsch

 More than half a million bone transplant surgeries are performed annually all around the world. Bone defects can have a devastating impact on patient’s ability to walk, aesthetics and musculoskeletal functions of patients. Although bone has a natural potential to mend itself, additional interventions are required for the successful regeneration of bone tissue in the case of large-sized lesions. There are a number of challenges associated with these procedures that require immediate attention from researchers so that effective solutions may be implemented on a worldwide scale. They include donor-site limitations, disease transfer, and microbial infections. Moreover, as tissue engineering opened a new door to regaining organ functions, it became clear that cells, scaffolds, and growth factors were all necessary components for successful tissue regeneration when constructing tissue engineering systems [1].

Bone tissue engineering using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is a promising area of research and the use of MSCs to speed up the repair of large bone lesions has been the subject of extensive research. Yet, there are a lot of drawbacks to using MSCs directly.

Nano-sized EVs called exosomes are produced from cells during plasma membrane fusion, and they facilitate mRNA, miRNA, and protein transfer between cells. Exosomes enable local and systemic cell-to-cell communication and are looked at with great hope as potential treatments for bone tissue engineering. In light of these considerations, the goal of this study is to develop and implement a multi-functional scaffold containing MSC- derived exosomes that would fulfill fundamental needs in bone tissue engineering [2,3].

The project is funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Humboldt Research Fellowship Programme for Experienced Researchers).

[1] Akhtar, M.A., Novak, J., Radwansky, C., & Boccaccini, A. (2024). Fabrication and characterization of multifunctional, asymmetric bilayer films based on chitosan/gelatin/mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles for guided bone regeneration. Journal of Materials Research , 39 (19), 2654-2673.

[2] Li, W., Liu, Y., Zhang, P., Tang, Y., Zhou, M., Jiang, W., … & Zhou, Y. (2018). Tissue-engineered bone immobilized with human adipose stem cells-derived exosomes promotes bone regeneration. ACS applied materials & interfaces, 10(6), 5240-5254.

[3] Li, J., Li, X., Li, X., Liang, Z., Wang, Z., Shahzad, K. A., … & Tan, F. (2024). Local delivery of dual stem cell-derived exosomes using an Electrospun Nanofibrous platform for the treatment of traumatic brain injury. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 16(29), 37497-37512.