Abstract
Regenerative medicine strives to identify the mechanisms underlying repair of damaged tissues. Beside genetic and biochemical factors, acting at cell and tissue levels, physical stimulations (heat, electric fields, light irradiation) provide other pivotal roles for the coordinated behaviour of large tissue regions healing the wound. Light and heat exposure already showed their beneficial effects on wounds, promoting the healing process, and nowadays the controlled delivery of such stimulations through nanostructured materials is being thoroughly investigated. Heat-emitting nanoparticles that respond to external NIR stimulation have been recently proposed as fascinating tools for hyperthermia and drug delivery purposes, although the translation to clinical application is limited by long and expensive in vivo testing, and related ethical issues. PHOENIX will use the synergy between regenerative biology, nanotechnology, and chemistry to scientifically tackle the challenge of injured tissues to regenerate. Based on recent results achieved by the PI on development and validation of functional nanoparticles for remote control of cell function, PHOENIX will exploit NIR stimulation as a novel tool to augment, in situ, regenerative potential of injured tissue. In this context, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are under extensive investigation because of their potential as intracellular nanoheaters, offering in addition intrinsically imaging properties (NIR fluorescence, photoacustic and Raman imaging). Overcoming current limitations of CNTs in theranostics (lack of water solubility, toxicity, aggregation) PHOENIX will develop new chemical strategies to enhance CNT biocompatibility and allow their use as nanoheaters to enhance tissue regeneration. A small animal with unlimited regenerative potential, the freshwater polyp Hydra vulgaris, will be used as in vivo model, while human keratinocytes will allow in vitro modelling of skin repair processes, translating the results to therapeutic aims. Following CNT-mediated photothermal stimulation, enhancement of the tissue regenerating capabilities will be monitored at whole animal, cell and molecular levels, allowing dissecting the heat driven mechanisms controlling tissue regeneration. These ambitious objectives require strong synthetic skills and consolidate capacity to understand and enhance tissue regeneration. PHOENIX team, merging advanced chemistry (CNT synthesis, functionalization), regenerative biology (Hydra regeneration, HaCat wound healing assay) and nanobiotechnology (NIR stimulation) will establish an interdisciplinary platform that powered by new personnel will impact on novel strategies with important application in regenerative biology.
Scientific coordinator for the Department
Prof. Matteo Calvaresi
Partnership
Istituto di scienze applicate e sistemi intelligenti “E.Caianiello”, Napoli (CNR-ISASI)