Purdue: A Purdue University researcher and entrepreneur
is commercializing her laboratory's innovative collagen formulations
that self-assemble or polymerize to form fibrils that resemble those
found in the body's tissues. These collagen building blocks can be used to
create customized three-dimensional tissue and organs outside the body
to support basic biological research, drug discovery and chemical
toxicity testing. In addition, they can be used to create next
generation tissue engineered medical products that foster improved
tissue integration and regeneration.
Sherry Harbin,
an associate professor in Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical
Engineering and Department of Basic Medical Sciences, and founder of GeniPhys,
has worked for more than 10 years to tap into the secrets of the
extracellular matrix component of tissues. The extracellular matrix is a
3D meshwork of molecules or microenvironment, including collagen,
within which cells live and function in the body.
During this time, Harbin and her research team
focused on how the body synthesizes and assembles collagen as well as
biophysical signaling mechanisms between collagen and cells.
"The collagen fibril matrix component of the ECM
was once thought to be a passive scaffold that simply served to provide
structural and mechanical support to tissues and organs," Harbin said.
"However, it is now evident that collagen fibril microstructure,
mechanical properties including stiffness, and proteolytic degradability
provide critical cues and instructions that control cell fate and
tissue formation."
Her formulations represent the only collagens
that are standardized or quality controlled-based on their
polymerization capacity, more specifically their ability to transition
from a fluid to fibril matrix state. In addition, Harbin and her
research team identified a novel collagen formulation, termed
"oligomer," that contains intermolecular crosslinks and exhibits
uncommon self-assembly properties. Matrices and materials prepared with
oligomer have dramatically improved mechanical properties and reduced
proteolytic degradation, overcoming major shortcomings of conventional
collagens.
"Conventionally, cells cultured on the surface of
plastic dishes have been used to identify new drug targets, test
chemical toxicity, and study cell processes associated with normal and
disease states such as cancer," Harbin said. "Unfortunately, growth of
cells in these over-simplified environments has been shown not to
correlate well with human cell responses in the body. GeniPhys collagen
polymers allow scientists to grow cells within a highly reproducible,
physiologically relevant 3-D collagen fibril matrix that they can
customize. In this way, scientists can determine how specific attributes
of the collagen ECM affect cell behavior, including tumor metastasis
and drug/toxin sensitivity."
This is important as pharmaceutical companies and
regulatory agencies look for new, less expensive ways to better predict
human outcomes as part of drug development and chemical toxicity
testing.
This technology also is supporting the
development of the first bioinstructive collagen-based therapeutics for
medical applications, including regenerative medicine strategies
involving therapeutic cells, multifunctional drug delivery, surgical
implants, and tissue engineered medical products.
Conventional biological products including
collagen sponges require extensive chemical and physical processing to
improve their mechanical strength and reduce their proteolytic
degradation. A challenge is that this processing method causes adverse
cell reactions by altering the biological properties of the collagen.
Furthermore, conventional medical collagen products do not self-assemble
so their biophysical properties, including fibril microstructure,
mechanical properties (stiffness), and proteolytic degradation, can't be
customized to provide specific instructions to cells. Harbin's startup
GeniPhys is currently manufacturing research-grade collagen polymer and
standardized polymerization kits that support creation and customization
of 3-D cell culture systems. GeniPhys plans to produce medical-grade
collymer products for veterinary and medical applications, including
wound and hemostatic dressings, cell-instructive implants, engineered
tissue and organ replacements, hybrid medical devices and therapeutic
cell and molecule delivery.
Harbin worked with professionals from the FDA,
industry, and academia to draft an ASTM standard guidance document on
this latest polymerizable collagen technology. Such ASTM standards help
to simplify product development, compare competing products, and speed
time-to-market. Such standards play an important role in the development
and implementation of innovative technologies that influence and
transform lives.
Harbin's technology is licensed through the Purdue Research Foundation's Office of Technology Commercialization, and she receives business coaching assistance through the Purdue Foundry. For more information on other available technologies, visit otc-prf.org/available-technologies.
About Purdue Foundry
The Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and
commercialization hub in Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for
Entrepreneurship. The Purdue Foundry is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation,
which received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year from the National
Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship. For
more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups
based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.
About GeniPhys
GeniPhys
is a Purdue University-based startup that specializes in the
commercialization of the first standardized, tunable collagen polymers
(Collymers) and collagen-fibril materials for research and medical
applications.