# Exosome-mediated Craniofacial Bone Tissue Engineering by Controlled Release

> **NIH NIH F30** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2020 · $51,320

## Abstract

Abstract
Healthy bone is critically important to systemic health. Of relevance to the craniofacial complex, dental implants
require that empty sockets are filled with bone prior to implant placement and restoring dentition. Bone quality
and bone amount are strongly correlated with both the short- and long-term success of dental implants.
Biomaterials-based bone regeneration is promising to circumvent shortcomings of bone grafting. These
biomaterials can be functionalized with instructive components which guide tissue regeneration. Exosomes,
thought to be nature's endogenous biomolecule delivery platform, are particularly interesting because of their
innate biocompatibility and capacity to communicate with cells to modulate their phenotype. Recent in vitro
data suggests that exosomes derived from mineralizing MC3T3 pre-osteoblasts are able to induce
mineralization in naive bone marrow stromal cells. However, engineering a means for their efficient therapeutic
delivery in vivo, in a clinically and biologically relevant manner is a challenge in exosome-mediated therapy.
The overall therapeutic goal of this project is to exploit the regenerative capacity of endogenous mesenchymal
stem cells by mimicking the natural secretion of exosomes with a polymeric tissue engineering construct. My
preliminary data suggests that polymeric self-assembly via a tunable biodegradable copolymer can
encapsulate exosomes, which are released in a sustained fashion over time. My central hypothesis is that
controlled release of osteogenic exosomes from a polymer matrix will promote craniofacial bone
healing.
The specific aims are to 1) develop a well-controlled fabrication method which allows incorporation of an
exosome-releasing modality into a three-dimensional tissue engineering construct; 2) evaluate the integrity of
the bioactive exosome contents during encapsulation and release, and their ability to cause phenotype
changes in downstream cells; and 3) validate the technology invented herein in two in vivo models of
craniofacial bone regeneration. The outcomes of the proposed experiments will demonstrate a means for the
encapsulation and controlled delivery of exosomes from a polymer matrix, causing craniofacial bone
regeneration without stem cell transplantation. Effective exosome encapsulation and release strategies, which
preserve their biologic activity, are critical to advancing the field of exosome-mediated clinical therapies, which
can be applied to the regeneration of many tissue types.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9904865
- **Project number:** 1F30DE029359-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** William Benton Swanson
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $51,320
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9904865

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9904865, Exosome-mediated Craniofacial Bone Tissue Engineering by Controlled Release (1F30DE029359-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9904865. Licensed CC0.

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