# Supramolecular nanofibers for recombinant growth factor-free spine fusion

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $551,958

## Abstract

Project Summary
After blood, bone is the most frequently transplanted tissue, with 1.6 to 2 million transplants performed in the
US alone each year. Spine fusions are among the most common orthopaedic procedures requiring bone
healing, with over 500,000 performed annually. Although transplantation of the patient's own bone is
considered the gold standard for spine fusion, its use is challenged by donor site morbidity and inadequate
availability of donor bone. Recombinant bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) is a growth factor that is
FDA-approved as a bone graft substitute, but serious adverse effects associated with its use have caused
significant concerns by patients, physicians, and hospitals. Universally safe and effective bone graft
substitutes for spine fusion do not currently exist for these procedures. Our long-term goal is to develop a
highly effective strategy to regenerate bone using recombinant growth factor-free bioactive nanoscale
materials, suitable to spine fusion and other orthopaedic applications. We will achieve this goal by
implementing a multiaxial strategy to improve cell signaling for osteogenesis at the bone defect site, using two
complimentary approaches: 1) application of our discovery that glycosylation of peptide amphiphile nanofibers
achieves biomimetic presentation and enhanced signaling of host-derived growth factors involved in bone
regeneration; 2) application of a second discovery that certain peptide nanofiber designs can invade cell
membranes to enhance osteogenic signaling. The nanofiber scaffold developed in this work will be used either
on its own or in combination with bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) rather than with recombinant growth
factor. Our studies will facilitate the repair and regeneration of bone by enhancing the bone-forming capacity of
a patient's own native growth factors. Such an approach could obviate the need for recombinant factors,
thereby providing a safer and more effective therapeutic strategy for bone regeneration in spinal fusion and
other orthopaedic applications.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10380164
- **Project number:** 5R01AR072721-05
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** SAMUEL I STUPP
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $551,958
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-12 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10380164

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10380164, Supramolecular nanofibers for recombinant growth factor-free spine fusion (5R01AR072721-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10380164. Licensed CC0.

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