(58g) ENGINEERED POLYSACCHARIDE-BASED NANOMATERIALS FOR TISSUE SEALING, REPAIR, AND ENDOSCOPIC IMAGING

Early detection of abnormalities and effective repair of tissues is critical for improving health outcomes of patients. Amine-containing small-molecules and polysaccharides have been investigated in therapeutic applications and drug delivery because of their biological activity and biocompatibility. We have extensively used small-molecule aminoglycoside antibiotics as substrates for generating polymers for therapeutic delivery, hydrogels for 3D organoid culture, and microparticles for applications in nucleic acid biotechnology. In this presentation, I will discuss our more recent work on engineering polysaccharide-derived injectable formulations for endoscopic marking of gastrointestinal lesions. Endoscopic tattooing is commonly used to mark suspect regions, including polyps, in colorectal tissue in vivo. The one product currently approved by the FDA for endoscopic marking diffuses significantly away from the injection site and demonstrates poor localization, can cause fibrosis, and is not amenable to multimodal imaging. We have developed a set of injectable nano- and micro-scale formulations based on engineered polysaccharides for endoscopic tattooing with application in detection and marking of colorectal pathologies. These formulations demonstrated excellent spot localization, high contrast under endoscopic light, high biocompatibility, and potential for multi-modal imaging. Several cases of GI trauma and disease necessitate surgical intervention, but leakage after surgery is a common occurrence and results in high morbidity, need for additional interventions and increased hospitalizations. We developed an intestinal leakage model in live rats and our results demonstrate that laser sealing using polysaccharide-based laser-activated sealants (LASEs) significantly enhanced biomechanical recovery of intestinal tissues ex vivo and survival in vivo. Reinforcement using LASEs is therefore an attractive strategy for minimizing leakage-associated adverse events in GI trauma. Our results demonstrate that engineered polysaccharide-derived nanomaterials have significant promise for clinical translation in endoscopic marking and for tissue sealing and repair in the GI tract.