Hybrid strategies with GelMA hydrogel, Sr-doped bioglasses and cell therapy in bone defect repair: in vivo study

• Grant number: 25/05305-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry - Periodontology
• Principal Investigator: Joni Augusto Cirelli
• Grantee: Alan Augusto Valério Alves
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia (FOAr). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Bioglasses (BV) are widely and successfully used for bone regeneration in orthopedic, dental and maxillofacial applications. In parallel, hydrogels containing bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have also been proposed for bone regeneration within the contemporary proposal of multipotent cell transplantation in tissue engineering. However, the insufficient osteoinduction capacity of hydrogels loaded with BMSCs limits their clinical application. In this study, Sr-doped bioactive glass produced by sol-gel method will be combined with gelatin methacryloyl hydrogel (GelMA) and also with BMSCs cell therapy to produce scaffolds through photo-crosslinking. The regulation of bone regeneration will be investigated in vivo in critical bone defect in murine calvaria. Eight weeks after implantation, the animals will be euthanized and the calvarias will be processed and analyzed by Micro-CT and histological analyses to evaluate bone neoformation. A significance level of 5% will be adopted for the analyses.