# Bactericidal hydrogels for bone repair

> **NIH NIH R01** · GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2024 · $440,185

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Bone fractures and non-union defects often require surgical intervention where devices are used to correct
the defect, and 1-5% of these procedures are compromised by bacterial infection with annual hospital costs
exceeding $1.9B. Current treatments are limited to sustained, high systemic doses of antibiotics and surgical
debridement of affected tissue. These corrective procedures significantly drive healthcare costs and have sub-
optimal patient outcomes as effective antibiotic doses are difficult to attain at the infection site due to the presence
of a biofilm and toxicity considerations. Furthermore, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria raises
concerns regarding the effectiveness of current antibiotics. The objective of this renewal application is to
engineer synthetic hydrogels co-delivering lysostaphin and antibiotics to eliminate established bacterial
infections and promote bone repair in murine and ovine models. Our central hypothesis is that hydrogel-based
delivery of lysostaphin and antibiotics will synergize to eliminate staphylococcal infections and result in bone
healing in murine and ovine models of implant-associated bone infection. This research will establish a localized
and translatable strategy to effectively eliminate established bacterial infections to support bone repair. Aim 1.
Engineer antimicrobial hydrogels for the treatment of infected bone fractures in murine models of bone repair.
Aim 2. Engineer hydrogels co-delivering antimicrobial agents and BMP-2 to eliminate established bacterial
infection and repair non-healing segmental bone defects in mice. Aim 3. Evaluate the ability of antimicrobial
hydrogels to mitigate bacterial infection and support bone repair in a plate-stabilized osteotomy infection model
in sheep. The proposed research is innovative because it focuses on engineering hydrogels that locally deliver
antimicrobial agents to eliminate bacterial infection, modulate inflammation, and support bone repair. This novel
strategy represents a more effective and safer alternative to current systemic antibiotic regimens and antibiotic-
releasing bone cements. This research is expected to yield the following significant outcomes. We will establish
an injectable antimicrobial hydrogel for the repair of infected bone fractures and non-healing bone defects. We
will analyze the efficacy, safety, and biological mechanisms of these biomaterials in murine and ovine models of
implant-associated bone infections.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10904120
- **Project number:** 1R01AR083702-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** Andres J Garcia
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $440,185
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-05-03 → 2029-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10904120

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10904120, Bactericidal hydrogels for bone repair (1R01AR083702-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10904120. Licensed CC0.

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