# A novel bioengineering approach to restoring permanent periodontal inflammatory bone loss

> **NIH NIH R01** · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · 2024 · $798,032

## Abstract

About 80% of Americans experience periodontitis in their lifetime. Alveolar bone loss leads to loosening or loss
of teeth or dental implants that disrupts the most basic daily functions, such as eating and speaking. Various
bone grafts are being used to restore alveolar bone loss, but poor prognosis remains a long-standing problem.
Autografts are considered the gold standard, but these grafts exhibit significant volume loss in inflammatory
conditions. The available amount of material for autografts is limited, and surgical harvesting procedures are
often complex and associated with morbidity, pain, and infection at the donor site. Allografts and xenografts have
less bone formation capacity than autografts, while they are also associated with risks of infection, disease
transmission, and immunological rejection by the host. Synthetic bone grafts such as hydroxyapatite (HAP) and
beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) have also been widely used, mostly in granule or block form. However, none
of the existing synthetic bone graft materials exhibit sufficient bone formation capacity to restore inflammatory
alveolar bone loss to pre-disease levels. There is a significant unmet medical need for the development of a
next-generation bone implant that can effectively regenerate alveolar bone in chronic inflammatory conditions.
Alveolar bone almost never spontaneously regenerates in the presence of chronic inflammation. Excess
inflammation destroys tissues and supports the growth of pathogens leading to the realization that effective
control of microbiome dysbiosis in periodontitis cannot be achieved without effective control of inflammation.
Inflammation can be resolved by specialized pro-resolving lipid mediators (SPMs) that can rapidly restore tissue
homeostasis to stop the negative feedback loop of infection-inflammation and boost bone regeneration. SPMs
effectively regulate inflammation in utero through early childhood, but their production and effectiveness diminish
with age. In many instances, chronic inflammatory diseases such as periodontitis are associated with a failure
of natural resolution pathways. Here, we aim to develop an innovative 3D printed customized biomimetic and
immunomodulatory alveolar bone implant that can provide targeted key biological factors for inflammation
modulation and bone regeneration. We will use whitlockite (WH) nanoparticles, the second most abundant bone
mineral in humans with excellent bone formation capacity, to develop SPM-delivering bone-mimetic ink material
for 3D printing a customized, personalized bone implant that can stably fit into alveolar bone defects to effectively
resolve inflammation and boost bone regeneration. During this research project, we will establish a novel
bioengineering process for preparing this innovative alveolar bone implant that can later be used by clinicians.
The therapeutic effectiveness of the SPM-delivering bone-mimetic implant will be evaluated in a periodontitis
model with alveolar bo...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10879111
- **Project number:** 5R01DE032406-02
- **Recipient organization:** BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Hae Lin Jang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $798,032
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-07-01 → 2028-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10879111

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10879111, A novel bioengineering approach to restoring permanent periodontal inflammatory bone loss (5R01DE032406-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10879111. Licensed CC0.

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