The immune system has developed the ability to effectively heal small ruptures and fractures by regulating the regenerative hematoma (RH). The RH is a complex and dynamic environment that orchestrates various molecular and cellular processes, ensuring complete tissue repair.
A new study by Researchers at the Schools of Pharmacy and Chemical Engineering at the University of Nottingham has presented a cooperative approach that harnesses endogenous molecules and natural healing to engineer personalized regenerative materials. This ‘Biocooperative’ approach, based on blood, could lead to personalized regenerative blood products that could be used as effective therapies to treat injury and disease.
The team used peptide molecules that direct essential processes involved in natural tissue healing to develop living materials that promote enhanced tissue regeneration.
Most body tissues can regenerate small ruptures or fractures with remarkable efficiency through a complex healing process. Early stages involve liquid blood forming a solid regenerative hematoma (RH), a living microenvironment including essential cells, macromolecules, and factors coordinating regeneration.
The team developed a self-assembling technique combining synthetic peptides with a patient’s whole blood to create a material that captures key molecules, cells, and mechanisms from the natural healing process. This approach allows the creation of engineered regenerative materials that mimic the RH and enhance its structural and functional properties.
These materials can be easily assembled, manipulated, and even 3D printed while preserving the natural functions of the regenerative hematoma (RH), including normal platelet behavior, growth factor generation, and the recruitment of cells essential for healing. Using this method, the team demonstrated the ability to successfully repair bone in animal models by utilizing the animal’s blood.
Alvaro Mata, a Professor in Biomedical Engineering and Biomaterials at the School of Pharmacy and the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering said, “For years, scientists have been looking at synthetic approaches to recreate the natural regenerative environment, which has proven difficult given its inherent complexity.”
“Here, we have taken an approach to try to work with biology instead of recreating it. This “biocooperative” approach opens opportunities to develop regenerative materials by harnessing and enhancing mechanisms of the natural healing process. In other words, our approach aims to use regenerative mechanisms we have evolved with as fabrication steps to engineer regenerative materials.”
Dr Cosimo Ligorio, Faculty of Engineering, said, “The possibility of easily and safely turning people’s blood into highly regenerative implants is really exciting. Blood is practically free and can be easily obtained from patients in relatively high volumes. Our aim is to establish a toolkit that could be easily accessed and used within a clinical setting to rapidly and safely transform patients’ blood into rich, accessible, and tuneable regenerative implants.”
Journal Reference:
- Soraya Padilla-Lopategui, Cosimo Ligorio, Wenhuan Bu, Chengcheng Yin, Domenico Laurenza, Carlos Redondo et al. Biocooperative Regenerative Materials by Harnessing Blood-Clotting and Peptide Self-Assembly. Advanced Materials. DOI: 10.1002/adma.202407156
