Catherine Cécile Picart

Host Institution : Grenoble Institute of Technology

Laboratory: LMGP (CNRS/G INP)

Call for projects : Proof of concept

Name of the project : OSCODI

Amount : 0.15 M€

Description : 

Successful bone regeneration depends on the establishment of a good contact between an implant (e.g. osteoconductive materials such as metals, ceramics, polymers) and the newly forming bone. One of the future challenges lies in boosting bone regeneration by limiting the number of surgeries while reducing their cost. With her ERC Starting Grant 2010, Prof. Picart has developed new biomaterials permissive for the engineering of musculo-skeletal tissues and for guiding tissue regeneration.
Her team has shown that “smart” films like biopolymer films were capable of supporting the adhesion, the proliferation and the differentiation of muscle and skeletal cells in vitro. The PoC grant will now allow Prof. Picart to test the pre-clinical efficacy of these newly generated biomaterials as well as their ability to deliver bioactive proteins. These proteins, such as the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) are known to stimulate bone growth.
More specifically, the researchers will aim to prove the activity of biopolymer films loaded with BMP after aging and to demonstrate the mechanical resistance of the generated film on orthopedic and dental implants. They will also investigate the osteo-inductive potential of alternative BMP loaded materials and prove the capacity of the film to generate bone in living small animal models. Their hope is ultimately to commercialise a new generation of orthopedic and dental materials.