Sequestration of biomolecules for controlled delivery in mineralized collagen scaffolds

Statement of Purpose. Craniomaxillofacial (CMF) bone injuries display complex injury patterns and poor prognosis. Difficulties associated with donor site morbidity (autologous grafts) as well as high donor-to donor variability (allogenic grafts) motivate efforts to generate tissue engineering solutions. Efforts in our lab have recently developed a mineralized collagen-GAG scaffold that promotes robust stem cell attachment, proliferation, osteogenic differentiation, and mineral deposition in the absence of exogenous osteogenic factors¹. However, these materials face significant challenges for translation to clinical-scale, critically-sized bone defects, notably the need to improve implant osseointegration (cell recruitment, osteogenesis, angiogenesis). Bone healing is a complex process with growth factor presentation varying temporally and spatially^2,3, motivating efforts to recapitulate elements of this complex biomolecular landscape. Here we describe a sequestration strategy to incorporate and retain growth factors within our mineralized collagen constructs.