Hydrogel Encapsulated Cells as Factories to Heal Wounds

Rutgers Inventor(s):  Ronke Olabisi; Ayesha Aijaz

Awarded:  December 2018

Summary:  Rutgers researchers have combined two different types of cells, which sends them into overdrive, pumping out wound-healing factors in greater amounts than when they are not combined. These combined cells are encapsulated into a hydrogel (think grapes in jello, but on the scale of the width of a few human hairs). The cells are then placed in a wound and the hydrogel protects them from the immune system, letting them secrete wound-healing factors and get nutrients from the wound fluid. The results show that wounds healed 3x faster and without scarring.

This innovation could be used in burns and chronic wounds that the elderly, diabetic, obese and the mobility-impaired suffer from. The numbers of people with chronic wounds is increasing because all the aforementioned populations are increasing. There are some individuals who have had a chronic wound for 30 years. This invention could help these people, and healing without scar could potentially transform plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Market Applications:

• Wound dressing for:
  • Burns
  • Radiation burns (95% of all cancer patients receiving radiation get radiation burns, and there is no clinical standard of care)
  • Surgery on healthy patients to reduce scarring
  • People who get hypertrophic scars or keloid, to reduce or eliminate their scarring