REPAIR OF MANDIBULAR INJURIES USING COLLAGEN-POLYMERIC MATRICES DERIVED FROM TILAPIA SKIN AND COATED WITH CHITOSAN AND CURCUMIN

• Grant number: 23/12084-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2024
• End date: January 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Pathological Anatomy and Clinical Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Rodrigues da Cunha
• Grantee: Bruna Eduarda Gandra de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Jundiaí (FMJ). Prefeitura Municipal de Jundiaí. Jundiaí , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Mandibular defects can cause aesthetic issues in the face and also compromise the swallowing process. Thus, adequate bone reconstruction becomes necessary to restore the patient's chewing functions, and for this purpose, some alternative therapies such as the use of bone grafts can be employed. In this regard, scaffolds are options in tissue engineering that act as support for cell adhesion and differentiation, which are essential for the formation of new bone tissue. As a grafting option, collagen polymers have advantages, such as being the most abundant protein in the extracellular matrix and easy obtainability from nature through extraction from tilapia skin. Furthermore, polymers allow their use in combination with other composites such as chitosan, which provides greater material stability, and curcumin due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, the use of plant extracts from the Brazilian flora associated with polymers that mimic the extracellular matrix of bone can stimulate and accelerate the necessary cell growth for immediate bone regeneration. The objective of this research will be to evaluate bone neoformation in defects experimentally created in the mandibles of rats using grafts of scaffolds composed of collagen, chitosan, and curcumin. For this purpose, 40 male Wistar rats will be used, which, after anesthesia, will undergo a surgical procedure to create a defect in the right mandibular ramus. The animals will be divided into groups as follows: G1: empty bone lesion (no graft), G2: filled with tilapia skin collagen, G3: collagen/chitosan, G4: collagen/chitosan/curcumin. After 16 weeks of surgery, the animals will be euthanized, and samples from the surgical area will be removed and processed for macroscopic, radiological, and histomorphometric analyses of the newly formed bone in the surgical area. Bone volume will be quantified using BioEstat 5.3 software, applying ANOVA and Tukey tests with a significance level of p<0.05.