# Expanding the Functionality of Engineered Extracellular Matrices

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2020 · $374,667

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Although hydrogel-based materials constitute a multibillion-dollar market, commercial applications for drug
delivery and regenerative medicine are extremely limited. Hydrogels have garnered intense interest as
extracellular matrix (ECM) mimics due to their tailorable permeability, mechanics, and degradability, yet their
clinical use in this area largely depends on biological materials such as proteins. Although some success has
been met with naturally-derived ECM, these naturally derived materials are often limited by long regulatory
approval timelines due to the potential to react with other biologics. Synthetic materials are therefore attractive
due to their known chemical compositions, but the challenge with their use lies in the lack of complexity as
compared to biological systems, which translates to a lack of efficacy in the clinic. Hence, the goal of this
proposal, and of our research lab, is to expand the toolbox for building complexity and functionality into
synthetic hydrogel biomaterials by using dynamic chemistries and monomer sequence-based
strategies. This strategy takes much inspiration from nature, as the structure and function of biological polymers
arise from the precise placement of their amino acids or nucleotides. In addition, cells are able to remodel and
reconfigure the natural ECM over time. Both of these characteristics have proven difficult to engineer into
synthetic networks. Hence, our goals over the next five years are to 1) develop hydrogels with reversible
crosslinks to quantitatively design reconfigurable matrices, 2) develop synthetic sequence-controlled linkers to
control hydrogel properties (e.g., mechanics, degradation, activity) using polypeptoids, and 3) combine these
approaches to develop self-assembled constructs for tissue engineering. We believe our goals will be useful for
broad applications in regenerative medicine, therapeutic delivery, and preclinical models of tissue for drug
development. In addition, we anticipate that the potential to alter current modes of thinking in hydrogel and
biomaterial design is high, and that our work will shed insight to the biological processes underlying cell-matrix
interactions. For these reasons, this work is well suited for the R35 Maximizing Investigators' Research Award
for Early Stage Investigators.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10029321
- **Project number:** 1R35GM138193-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Adrianne Rosales
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $374,667
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-15 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10029321

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10029321, Expanding the Functionality of Engineered Extracellular Matrices (1R35GM138193-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10029321. Licensed CC0.

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