# Multilayer Scaffold for Condyle Surface Regeneration

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2022 · $47,552

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The most severe cases of TMJ disorders consist of mandibular condyle degeneration. Unfortunately, no
regenerative options exist, and current treatments do not restore full function. The articulating tissue of the
condyle is a fibrocartilage that consists of an intricate interface between fibrous, cartilaginous, and boney
tissue that is essential for normal function and that is lost in severe TMJ disorders. The objective of this study
is to regenerate fibrocartilage-bone interface of the mandibular condyle in skeletally mature goats using a
comprehensive tissue engineering approach. I hypothesize that a multilayer scaffold will allow for site-specific
fibrous-cartilage-bone regeneration of the mandibular condyle cartilage when compared to a homogenous
sponge scaffold and untreated control defects. First, I will study the properties of a multilayer scaffold design
in-vitro. I will characterize the permeability and release of TGFβs from the scaffold. Second, I will study the
regeneration potential of three cell subpopulations found on the condyle. Third, I will implant our scaffold in
mandibular condyle defects of goats and assess their potential for functional regeneration. This proposal
highlights the contributions that the PI will make throughout the duration of the training, which will
primarily focus on the completion of scaffold fabrication and characterization, as well as the study of
the regenerative potential of TMJ cells subpopulations in vitro and of our bilayer scaffold in vivo.
Successful completion of this proposal is the critical step to providing a regenerative therapy to treat TMJ
mandibular cartilage degeneration and a basis for successful osteochondral tissue regeneration in other sites.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10604924
- **Project number:** 1F31DE031967-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Sara Trbojevic
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $47,552
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-15 → 2025-09-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10604924

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10604924, Multilayer Scaffold for Condyle Surface Regeneration (1F31DE031967-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10604924. Licensed CC0.

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