Project description
Improved nanocomposite hydrogels for bone regeneration
The limitations of self-healing hydrogels designed for tissue and organ regeneration can be overcome by ensuring their strength and capability to guide tissue regeneration without compromising their self-healing behaviour. The EU-funded Nano4Bone project employs metal-ligand coordination bonds to engineer interactions between nanoparticles and polymers, creating self-healing hydrogels that are both stable and labile, thus improving their mechanical properties. The inclusion of nanoparticles increases local crosslinking densities, enhancing mechanical strength without compromising self-healing capabilities. Additionally, these nanoparticles can serve as bioactive units by incorporating therapeutic ions to promote tissue-healing behaviour. The metal-ligand bond offers control over the gradual release of bioactive nanoparticles over time. The project aims to optimise these materials for the treatment and regeneration of bone tissue in osteosarcoma.
Objective
Self-healing hydrogels are investigated as promising biomaterials in tissue and organ regeneration applications, offering a powerful alternative for scarce donor tissue. However, these hydrogels are often insufficiently tough, which is a significant limitation in their clinical use. Another drawback is that there are limited solutions on how to instruct cells for tissue healing. Thus, one key challenge is to develop self-healing hydrogels that are mechanically strong and can guide tissue regeneration. However, current methods to improve the mechanical properties of hydrogels negatively impact self-healing behavior.
In Nano4Bone, I aim to provide a novel solution to this challenge by engineering nanoparticle polymer interactions using metal-ligand coordination bonds, which, uniquely, are both stable and labile; ideal properties for creating spontaneous self-healing hydrogels. The nanoparticles act as dynamic crosslinkers to increase local crosslinking densities, thus dramatically improving the mechanical properties without affecting the self-healing behavior. Importantly, the nanoparticles can also act as bioactive units through smart incorporation of therapeutic ions to instruct tissue-healing behavior. The metal ligand bond can be tuned for temporally controlled release of bioactive nanoparticles, a novel approach which allows kinetic control over bioactive signals. To prove their clinical utility, I will optimize the materials to treat and regenerate bone tissue in osteosarcoma (OS), for which new treatment options are urgently needed.
Nano4Bone proposes an innovative method to drastically improve the mechanical properties of hydrogels without negatively impacting their self-healing abilities. The impact of the project will be large by addressing key challenges in the field, offering a new treatment for OS, and a wide application area of the new materials in regenerative medicine and other biomedical fields.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology biomaterials
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2022-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
6200 MD Maastricht
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.