Pitt Innovators Issued 9 Patents in November 2021

Pitt Innovators were issued 9 U.S. patents in November, 2021. Eight are available for licensing, including a new method of re-growing bone and other tissue.

Featured patent: 11,179,502  “Biomimetic Hydrodgel Scaffolds and Associated Methods“

Annually, there are more than 1 million bone-grafting operations in the U.S. Traditional bone grafts consist of porous scaffolds made of metals, polymers, ceramics, or composite biomaterials. These grafts result in unsatisfactory surgical outcomes due to poor wear, mechanical mismatch, and incompatible surface environment. It’s often necessary to augment traditional grafts with expensive growth factors for bones to heal. Pitt innovators led by Shilpa Sant, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Science, are developing a hydrogel scaffold system (FHSS) that offers not only biocompatibility, biodegradability, and mechanical stability, but also its bioactivity encourages sequestration and deposition of minerals to regrow bone at the site of the graft. In addition, the self-assembling fibrous scaffold is simple and cost-effective to produce.

For more information on this technology, including licensing, contact Janice Panza at jpanza@innovation.pitt.edu.

Below is a list of patents issued to Pitt innovators in November 2021. You can also search the complete database of all Pitt innovations available for licensing.