Northwestern University scientists led by SQI director Samuel Stupp have developed an injectable bioactive material that successfully regenerated high-quality hyaline cartilage in the knee joints of large animals. With more work, the researchers say the new material could potentially be used to prevent full knee replacement surgeries, treat degenerative diseases like osteoarthritis and repair sports-related injuries like ACL tears.

In November 2021, SQI director Samuel Stupp’s laboratory introduced an injectable new therapy, which harnessed fast-moving “dancing molecules,” to repair tissues and reverse paralysis after severe spinal cord injuries. Now, the same research group has applied the therapeutic strategy to damaged human cartilage cells.

“We are beginning to see the tremendous breadth of conditions that this fundamental discovery on ‘dancing molecules’ could apply to,” Stupp said. “Controlling supramolecular motion through chemical design appears to be a powerful tool to increase efficacy for a range of regenerative therapies.”

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) published a “science highlight” on new technologies to improve bladder surgery and monitoring, developed by SQI members Arun Sharma, Guillermo Ameer and John Rogers. Their translational research, which combines regenerative medicine and bioelectronics, was originally published in separate papers in PNAS and PNAS Nexus.

SQI member Jonathan Rivnay was named to the 2024 “Researchers to Know” list by the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition (ISTC). An expert in organic and hybrid bioelectronics, Rivnay was one of 31 faculty members from across the state recognized by the ISTC.

Researchers led by SQI members Guillermo Ameer, John Rogers and Arun Sharma have developed a new soft, flexible, battery-free implant that attaches to the bladder wall to sense filling. Then, it wirelessly transmits data to a smartphone app, so users can monitor their bladder fullness in real time.

While this new device is unnecessary for the average person, it could be a game-changer for people with paralysis, spina bifida, bladder cancer or end-stage bladder disease. The sensor system also can enable clinicians to monitor their patients remotely and continuously to make more informed — and faster — treatment decisions.

Northwestern University researchers led by SQI member Evan Scott have developed the first selective therapy to prevent allergic reactions, which can range in severity from itchy hives and watery eyes to trouble breathing and even death. 

To develop the new therapy, researchers decorated nanoparticles with antibodies capable of shutting down specific immune cells (called mast cells) responsible for allergic responses, as well as an allergen that corresponds to the patient’s specific allergy. In this two-step approach, the allergen engages the precise mast cells responsible for the specific allergy, and then the antibodies shut down only those cells.