Smart biomaterials will allow the regeneration of maxillofacial tissues minimizing surgeries

The Spanish company DevelopBiosystem coordinates a project, funded by the Ministry of Economy through the programme RETOS COLABORACION 2016 that will allow the development of new smart biomaterials to regenerate maxillofacial tissues by applying them in aerosol or injected, so that surgical procedures are reduced at competitive cost. 

AIMPLAS takes part in this project by developing the technology needed to obtain the innovative formats, as well as its scale-up at pilot plant. The Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine Group from the University of A Coruña (UDC) takes part in the project, too. It has performed the pre-clinical toxicological assessment by means of an in vitro model. 

The reconstruction of big tissue defects is one of the main challenges faced by modern maxillofacial surgery. Hitherto, allogenic bone grafts were used for the simplest defects, but they have drawbacks, such as its high cost, limited mechanical properties and risk of disease transmission. For that reason, tissue engineering is presented as an alternative and, in particular, the application of third-generation biomaterials able to interact with biological tissues. 

DevelopBiosystem, dedicated to R&D in this field, has driven the project AEROINJECTGRO to develop biomaterials acting as support, induction and medium to regenerate tissues, in particular those destined to the regeneration of bone defects caused by a disease or injury especially critical. 

In particular, four products will be developed: a biomaterial with three phases resorbable in three different stages to keep the cellular support until regeneration, smart thermosensitive and injectable materials with ability to transition from solution to gel when coming into contact with the body temperature, a stabilising biomaterial with cellular barrier function between solid and soft tissues and a tissue regeneration membrane with the same barrier function applicable through aerosol. 

All these innovative biomaterials will be adapted by means of the development of new technologies to be administered by injection (formulations in solution transforming into hydrogels stable at body temperature acting as tissue regeneration supports) and by aerosol (for open areas). 

DevelopBiosystem, as experts in biomaterials synthesis, will be responsible for developing the materials; AIMPLAS will develop the technology needed to obtain the final product and will carry out the scale-up at pilot plant; the Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine Group from the UDC will perform a pre-clinical toxicological assessment of the products developed in order to demonstrate the absence of toxicity and the efficiency of the treatments developed.