# Non-covalent functionalization of collagen for growth factor delivery using bispecific aptamers

> **NIH NIH R01** · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE · 2024 · $506,789

## Abstract

Project Summary
Local delivery of growth factors has been applied to treat various human diseases. However, many growth factor
delivery systems cannot stably sequester bioactive growth factors for sustained delivery, primarily due to a lack
of high-affinity and high-specificity molecular recognition. This deficiency leads to the rapid release of growth
factors, thereby requiring supraphysiological levels of drug loading and delivery to achieve therapeutic efficacy.
Unfortunately, such a delivery approach has been found to cause high toxicity and even cancer in patients.
Therefore, the objective of this project is to study a novel transformative drug delivery platform based on non-
covalent functionalization with bispecific aptamers. Different from traditional methods requiring co-valent
functionalization, this innovative method does not require alterations to the manufacturing procedures or
properties of existing biomaterials. Furthermore, growth factors can be loaded into off-the-shelf biomaterials
when needed. To achieve the goal, we will: 1) design and evaluate bispecific aptamers; 2) evaluate growth
factor loading and release; and 3) evaluate in vivo growth factor delivery. It is anticipated that bispecific aptamers
can stably attach to delivery systems and sequester growth factors due to high binding affinities and specifities,
allowing for local, sustained growth factor delivery. The success of this project will not only lead to the
development of a technological platform for growth factor delivery, but also transform the way of functionalizing
various materials at different scales in applications such as bioimaging, biosensing, cell engineering, etc.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10855722
- **Project number:** 1R01EB035568-01
- **Recipient organization:** PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE
- **Principal Investigator:** Yong Wang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $506,789
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-05-15 → 2028-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10855722

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10855722, Non-covalent functionalization of collagen for growth factor delivery using bispecific aptamers (1R01EB035568-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10855722. Licensed CC0.

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