NOVO NORDISK FOUNDATION-SPONSORED VISITING SCHOLAR FELLOWSHIP RESEARCH PROJECT - 2024

Visiting Scholar: Michelle Jansman (Technical University of Denmark)

Stanford Faculty Advisor: Fan Yang (Orthopaedic Surgery and Bioengineering)
 

Macroporous Hydrogels with Oxygen-releasing Nanoparticles for Bone Regeneration

Bone loss can be caused by trauma, congenital disease, or tumor removal. Critical-sized bone defects cannot selfheal, and regeneration remains challenging due to hypoxia in the defects’ center. Recently, oxygen (O2)-releasing nanoparticles, used in combination with scaffolds, have shown promise in enhancing cardiovascular tissue regeneration or wound healing through promoting angiogenesis. However, macroporosity of scaffolds is critical for bone regeneration, yet the potential of combining O2- releasing nanoparticles with macroporous hydrogels for repairing bone defects has yet to be explored.

The goal of this project is to develop macroporous hydrogels with tunable O2-release to enhance bone regeneration by promoting angiogenesis, immunomodulation, and osteogenesis.