# Nanofabricated Devices and Nanomedicine Approaches for Wound Healing

> **NIH NIH K25** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2024 · $155,880

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
This mentored research proposal seeks to aims establish a laboratory of an engineer and nanoscientist in
biomedical research. The scientific focus of this proposal is on tissue nanotransfection (TNT), an electromotive
gene transfer technology that delivers plasmids, RNA and oligonucleotides to the live tissue in vivo. This
technology was the first to achieve non-viral in vivo reprograming of the skin to functional blood vessels (iV,
induced vasculogenesis) or to electrophysiologically active neural cells (iN, induced neuritogenesis) under
immune survillence using a nanoelectroporation approach that does not pose the risk of genomic integration or
transformation. TNT facilitates packaging of reprogramming cargo into biological nano carrier called exosome.
Although the feasibility of this approach has been tested in murine skin, its application in pre-clinical setting is
yet to be tested. The proposed work focuses on a new design of TNT chip that can be leveraged for release of
endogenous engineered exosomes in vivo for therapeutic purposes in both diabetic mice and humans. Such
approach was adopted to ensure high clinical significance. The project includes the following three aims. ?Aim
1: Nanoelectroporation induces release of exosome from cells. ?1.1: Nanoelectroporation increases cellular
cytoskeletal reorganization and recruitment of Rab-GTPase at the microtubules for transfer of multivesicular
bodies to the actin-rich cortex for release of exosome. ?1.2: Nanoelectroporation can be used as a method to
package endogenous mRNA and miRNA for release via exosome. ?Aim 2: Test the efficacy of tissue
nanotransfection induced engineered exosome in accelerating diabetic wound closure. ?2.1: Design of plasmids
for cell-specific packaging of mRNA in vivo. ?2.2: In vivo cell specific mRNA packaging within exosome via TNT
accelerates diabetic wound healing. ?Aim 3: Develop human scale TNT2.1 chip for preliminary preclinical testing.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10909402
- **Project number:** 5K25GM143572-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Yi Xuan
- **Activity code:** K25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $155,880
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10909402

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10909402, Nanofabricated Devices and Nanomedicine Approaches for Wound Healing (5K25GM143572-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10909402. Licensed CC0.

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