I-Corps: Translation potential of therapeutic hydrogel combining a Q-protein scaffold with exosomes to accelerate wound healing in chronic conditions

Award ID: 2627631

This I-Corps project is based on the development of a next-generation therapeutic platform designed for diabetic wound healing. Current treatments often fail to deliver and retain medications effectively at the wound site, leading to poor healing outcomes, high costs, and complex workflows. This technology combines a protein-based matrix with regenerative exosomes, which are vesicles secreted by cells that act as biological messengers and play a vital role in tissue repair, enabling simple topical administration and prolonged therapeutic activity to accelerate healing in diabetic foot ulcers. Clinicians and medical innovators confirm a need for solutions that improve healing reliability, reduce complexity, and align with reimbursement pathways. This technology may provide a solution to address unmet needs in treating diabetic foot ulcers and other chronic wounds and improve patient outcomes. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of a proteinexosome hydrogel system for chronic wound healing. Wound-care specialists that treat diabetic foot ulcers confirm several challenges with current treatment approaches including insufficient perfusion, chronic inflammation, biofilm burden, poor granulation, delayed closure, and high variability in patient adherence while advanced therapies are cited as inconsistent, costly, or workflow-intensive. This technology uses a rationally engineered Q-protein scaffold with exosomes, forming a tunable, Extracellular Matrix (ECM)-mimicking supramolecular network that enables high-affinity retention and controlled release of therapeutic cargo. Laboratory prototypes have demonstrated strong gelation, exosome-loading efficiency, and controlled retention that may enhance angiogenesis and reduce inflammation in chronic wound environments. This technology may accelerate the development of advanced hydrogel therapies, supporting improved healing outcomes and broader adoption in chronic wound management. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman