Friday, August 1, 2025 8/1/2025

Handheld 3D Bioprinting of Self-Healing Hydrogels for Vocal Fold Reconstruction

Award Number: R21DC018818
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/05/2020
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2024

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Handheld 3D Bioprinting of Self-Healing Hydrogels for Vocal Fold Reconstruction - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Between 3% and 9% of the general population have a voice problem at any given point in time. Such problems have serious psychological, functional and economic consequences, in particular for teachers and professional voice users. The most severe conditions affecting voice are when vocal fold mucosa is lost or replaced by scar. For large mucosa voids or scarring, we propose to deliver effective biomaterials into the vocal fold site using an endoscopy-fit handheld bioprinter. This approach may help regenerate a functional vocal fold tissue and restore voice production. Biomimetic self-healing hydrogels act like fluid flow during needle extrusion and rapidly solidify when the precursors mix, thus allowing in situ deposition of vocal fold implants via extrusion. We will optimize a self-healing hydrogel formulation that adheres and seals quickly to the host tissue, in which phenol-based components will be used as adhesives due to their biocompatibility and tunable adhesion strength. We will assess the biocompatibility of the proposed hydrogel using human vocal fold fibroblasts. The hydrogel will feed a custom-made handheld bioprinter with tunable length and coaxial geometry. We will explore bioprinting strategies to deposit such vocal fold implants via changing design parameters in the handheld bioprinter and extrusion of the proposed hydrogel to vocal fold sites. We will test our handheld bioprinter using ex vivo larynges, and will optimize the deposition parameters. In the last step, we will incorporate an animal model for in vivo assessment of our hydrogel and to justify the clinical efficiency of our proposed handheld bioprinter. Our overarching goal is to translate the proposed self-healing hydrogel system and the bioprinting platform into otolaryngology clinics in the United States when we successfully complete this grant.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = -$1,729 )
2025	2022	NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY	323 DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD	NEWARK	NJ	07102	ESSEX	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	4	1/2/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$1,729
														Subtotal = -$1,729

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $154,407 )
2022	2022	NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY	323 DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD	NEWARK	NJ	07102	ESSEX	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	005	4	8/15/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$153,500
2022	2022	NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY	323 DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD	NEWARK	NJ	07102	ESSEX	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	006	4	8/20/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2022	2021	NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY	323 DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD	NEWARK	NJ	07102	ESSEX	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	007	3	8/20/2022	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$0
2022	2021	NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY	323 DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD	NEWARK	NJ	07102	ESSEX	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	004	3	6/13/2022	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$130,857
2022	2021	ROWAN UNIVERSITY	201 MULLICA HILL RD RT 322	GLASSBORO	NJ	08028	GLOUCESTER	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	003	2	6/13/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$85,478
2022	2021	NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY	323 DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD	NEWARK	NJ	07102	ESSEX	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	001	3	4/27/2022	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$65,429
2022	2021	ROWAN UNIVERSITY	201 MULLICA HILL RD RT 322	GLASSBORO	NJ	08028	GLOUCESTER	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	2	4/20/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$64,522
2022	2020	ROWAN UNIVERSITY	201 MULLICA HILL RD RT 322	GLASSBORO	NJ	08028	GLOUCESTER	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	002	1	6/13/2022	NEW	-$45,379
														Subtotal = $154,407

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $150,000 )
2021	2021	ROWAN UNIVERSITY	201 MULLICA HILL RD RT 322	GLASSBORO	NJ	08028	GLOUCESTER	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	2	7/20/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$150,000
														Subtotal = $150,000

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $150,000 )
2020	2020	ROWAN UNIVERSITY	201 MULLICA HILL RD RT 322	GLASSBORO	NJ	08028	GLOUCESTER	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	8/4/2020	NEW	$150,000
														Subtotal = $150,000

Grand Total All Awards = $452,678

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Handheld 3D Bioprinting of Self-Healing Hydrogels for Vocal Fold Reconstruction

Award Number: R21DC018818

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/05/2020

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2024

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