Orthopaedic Repair and Regeneration

The Santerre lab has established a program in the area of musculoskeletal research in collaboration with Professors Robert Pilliar and Eli Sone in Dentistry and IBBME, and clinical teams at Mount Sinai Hospital (Drs. Rita Kandel and Marc Grynpas) and Sunnybrook (Drs. Cari Whyne and Jeff Fialkov).  Projects include a substitute tissue engineered spinal disc, where our group has contributed to the development of the annulus fibrosus scaffold with a patented degradable electrospun polyurethane fibre with a unique fibronectin adhesive surface modifying additive.

Working with Robert Pilliar and Marc Grynpas we have developed a novel bone composite made up of degradable calcium polyphosphate (CPP) and an in-situ curing degradable polymer carbonate resin interfacing with a natural bio-adhesive molecule.  This technology is currently in the process of being patented and preliminary in vivo studies undertaken.

Research with Prof. Cari Whyne and Dr. Jeff Fialkov at Sunnybrook hospital has resulted in the development of a novel degradable fracture fixation device called BoneTape. Fractures to the mid-face and cranium are extremely common, arising from trauma such as motor vehicle collisions or falls. The current standard of care is the implantation of titanium plates and screws. Dr. Fialkov likens such a repair as fixing a shattered vase, with plates and screws, difficult and time consuming. BoneTape has been conceived to address these limitations, as it will easily adapt to the complex anatomy of the facial bones. BoneTape consists of a thin polymeric backing coated with a novel polymer that is designed to bond to bone. Cohesys Inc. is a start-up company led by Dr. Michael Floros, focused on translating the polymer platform into medical devices, starting with BoneTape. 

Collaborating with Prof. Eli Sone, the Santerre lab has synthesized a family of novel, injectable, biodegradable, adhesive and amphiphilic oligomers comprised of urethane linkages with thermoresponsive properties. In addition, a unique domain present on the backbone allows for a slow chemical crosslinking mechanism to occur without the necessity of any initiators. This system will serve as a reservoir to deliver a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug specifically for the application of osteoarthritis. 

Select Publications :

  1. Ashraf S; Chatoor K, Chong J, Pilliar R, Santerre P, Kandel R, Transforming growth factor β enhances tissue formation by passaged nucleus pulposus cells in vitro, Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 38, 438-449 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.24476

  2. Iu J, Santerre JP, Kandel RA. Towards engineering distinct multilamellated outer and inner annulus fibrosus tissues. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 36, 1346–1355 (2018), https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.23793

  3. Iu J, Massicotte E, Li S, Hurtig MB, Toyserkani E, Santerre JP, Kandel RA , In vitro generated intervertebral discs: towards engineering tissue integration. Tissue Engineering Special Issue - Strategic Directions in Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering Part A, 23, 1001 - 1010, (2017). https://doi.org/10.1089/ten.tea.2016.0433

  4. Kandel, R, Santerre J, Massicotte, E, Hurtig M, Tissue engineering of the intervertebral disc, in The Intervertebral Disc, Eds Shapiro IM, Risbud MV, Springer, New York, 2014, ISBN 978-3-7091-1535-0, 437pages (pages 417-433). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1535-0_26

  5. Iu J., Santerre JP, Kandel RA, Inner and outer annulus fribosus cells exhibit differentiated phenotypes and yield changes in extracellular matrix composition in vitro on a polycarbonate urethane scaffold, Tissue Engineering Part A20(23-24):3176-88, (2014). https://doi.org/10.1089/ten.tea.2013.0777