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“Self-fitting” Shape Memory Polymer Scaffolds to Treat Craniomaxillofacial (CMF) Bone Defects

The Right Fit, the Best Healing

Cranio-maxillofacial (CMF) defects (as well as other types bone defects) can result from traumatic injury, infection, tumor removal, surgical burr holes, or congenital bone disease. The current gold standard to treat CMF bone defects is with autografts, but these suffer from limited availability, complex harvesting procedures as well as donor site morbidity. A particular difficulty is shaping and fixing the rigid autograft tightly into the defect so as to prevent premature resorption. Regenerative engineering represents a promising alternative to heal CMF bone defects.

What we are doing

We are developing “self-fitting” scaffolds based on shape memory polymers (SMPs) that conformally fit into defects following the mere exposure to warm saline.

“Self-fitting” Shape Memory Polymer Scaffolds to Treat Craniomaxillofacial (CMF) Bone Defects

Related Publications

Hybrid chitosan/PCL shape memory scaffolds with potential for bone regeneration and infection resistance

Dixon, D.T.; Shields, A.G.; Stafslien, S.J.; Vander Wal, L.; Grunlan, M.A. “Biohybrid shape memory polymer (SMP) scaffolds for bone regeneration and infection resistance,” ACS Biomater. Sci. Eng., 2025, 11, 5627-5637.

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Biodegradable Polyesters: Methods to increase degradation rates for biomedical applications

Roberts, C.T.; Grunlan, M.A. Biodegradable Polyesters: Methods to increase degradation rates for biomedical applications,” ACS Macro Letters, 2025, 14, 1221-1240.

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Bioactive, PDMS-containing shape memory composite scaffolds with accelerated degradation

Nitschke, B.M.; Wahby, M.N.; Breining, K.M.; Grunlan, M.A. “Bioactive, PDMS-containing shape memory composite scaffolds with accelerated degradation,” Polymer, 2025, 333, 128653.

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Biocompatibility and bone regeneration by shape memory polymer scaffolds

Gasson, S.B.; Dobson, L.K.; Pfau-Cloud, M.R.; Beltran, F.O.; Pool, R.R.; Gregory, C.A., Grunlan, M.A.; Saunders, W.B. “Biocompatibility and bone regeneration by shape memory polymer scaffolds,” J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Part A. 2025, 113, e37806.

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Shape memory polymer scaffolds – Utility for in vitro osteogenesis of canine multipotent stromal cells

Gasson, S.B.; Dobson, L.K.; Pfau-Cloud, M.R.; Beltran, F.O.; Gregory, C.A., Grunlan, M.A.; Saunders, W.B. “Shape memory polymer scaffolds – Utility for in vitro osteogenesis of canine multipotent stromal cells,” J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Part B, 2024, 112, e35503.

[DOI]

An in vivo assessment of different mesenchymal stromal cell tissue types and their differentiation state on a shape memory polymer scaffold for bone regeneration

Guda, T.; Stukel Shahn, J.M.; Lundquist, B.D.; Macaitis, J.M.; Lozano Pérez, M.; Pfau-Cloud, M.R.; Beltran, F.O.; Schmitt, C.W.; Corbin, E.M.; Grunlan, M.A.; Lien, W.; Wang, H.-C.; Burdette, A.J. “An in vivo assessment of different mesenchymal stromal cell tissue types and their differentiation state on a shape memory polymer scaffold for bone regeneration,” J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Part B, 2024, 112, e35516.

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“Shape memory polymer Bioglass composite scaffolds designed to heal complex bone defects

Nitschke, B.M.; Butchko, E.A.; Wahby, M.N.; Breining, K.M.; Konz, A.E.; Grunlan, M.A. “Shape
memory polymer Bioglass composite scaffolds designed to heal complex bone defects,” ACS Biomaterials
Sci. Eng. 2024, 10, 6509-6519

[DOI]

“Polycaprolactone-based shape memory foams as self-fitting vaginal stents

Hicks, A.J.; Roberts, C.T.; Robinson, A.; Wilson, K.; Kotamreddy, V.; LaRue, T.; Veyssi, A.; Beltran, F.O.;
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memory foams as self-fitting vaginal stents,” Acta Biomaterialia, 2024, 187, 177-182.

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Direct ink writing of porous shape memory polyesters

Raghuvaran, G.; Nischke, B.M.; Roberts, C.T.; Grunlan, M.A.; Pentzer, E.B. “Direct ink writing of porous shape memory polyesters,” Mater. Adv. 2024, 5, 5763-5771.

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Star-PCL shape memory polymer (SMP) scaffolds with tunable transition temperatures for enhanced utility

Roberts, C.T.; Beck, S.K.; Prejean, C.M.; Graul, L.M.; Maitland, D.J.; Grunlan, M.A. “Star-PCL shape memory polymer (SMP) scaffolds with tunable transition temperatures for enhanced utility,” J. Mater. Chem. B. 2024, 12, 3694-3702.

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Trends in bioactivity: Inducing and detecting mineralization of regenerative polymeric scaffolds

Nitschke, B.M.; Beltran, F.O.; Hahn, M.S.; Grunlan, M.A. “Trends in bioactivity: Inducing and detecting mineralization of regenerative polymeric scaffolds,” J. Mater. Chem. B. 2024, 12, 2720-2736.

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High-throughput screening of thiol–ene click chemistries for bone adhesive polymers

Ganabady, K.; Contessi Negrini, N.; Scherba, J.C.; Nitschke, B.M.; Alexander, M.R.; Vining, K.H.; Grunlan, M.A.; Mooney, D.J.; Celiz, A.D. “High throughput screening of thiol-ene click chemistries for bone adhesive polymers,” ACS Appl. Mater. & Interfaces, 2023, 15, 44.

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Enhanced degradation and bioactivity in polysiloxane-based shape memory polymer (SMP) scaffolds

Beltran, F.O.; Arabiyat, A.S.; Culibrk, R.A.; Yeisley, D.J.; Houk, C.J.; Hicks, A.J.; Negron-Hernandez, J.; Nitschke, B.M.; Hahn, M.S.; Grunlan, M.A. “Enhanced degradation and bioactivity in polysiloxane-based shape memory polymer (SMP) scaffolds,” Polymer, 2023, 284, 126291

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Comparative evaluation of mesenchymal stromal cell growth and osteogenic differentiation on a shape memory polymer scaffold

Stukel Shah, J.M.; Lundquist, B.; Macaitis, J.; Pfau-Cloud, M.R.; Beltran, F.O.; Grunlan, M.A.; Lien, W.; Wang, H.-C.; Burdette, A.J. “Comparative evaluation of mesenchymal stromal cell growth and osteogenic differentiation on a shape memory polymer scaffold,” J. Biomed. Maters. Res. Part B, 2022, 110, 2063-2074

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PoreScript: Semi-automated pore size algorithm for scaffold characterization

Jenkins, D.; Salhadar, K.; Ashby, G.; Misha, A.; Cheshire, J.; Beltran, F.; Grunlan, M.A.; Andrieux, S.; Stubenrauch, C.; Cosgriff-Hernandez, E. “PoreScript: Semi-automated pore size algorithm for scaffold characterization,” Bioactive Mater., 2022, 13, 1-8

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