@article{sheridan_nellenbach_pandit_byrnes_hardy_lutz_moiseiwitsch_scull_mihalko_levy_et al._2024, title={Clot-Targeted Nanogels for Dual-Delivery of AntithrombinIII and Tissue Plasminogen Activator to Mitigate Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation Complications}, volume={6}, ISSN={["1936-086X"]}, DOI={10.1021/acsnano.4c00162}, abstractNote={Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a pathologic state that follows systemic injury and other diseases. Often a complication of sepsis or trauma, DIC causes coagulopathy associated with paradoxical thrombosis and hemorrhage. DIC upregulates the thrombotic pathways while simultaneously downregulating the fibrinolytic pathways that cause excessive fibrin deposition, microcirculatory thrombosis, multiorgan dysfunction, and consumptive coagulopathy with excessive bleeding. Given these opposing disease phenotypes, DIC management is challenging and includes treating the underlying disease and managing the coagulopathy. Currently, no therapies are approved for DIC. We have developed clot-targeted therapeutics that inhibit clot polymerization and activate clot fibrinolysis to manage DIC. We hypothesize that delivering both an anticoagulant and a fibrinolytic agent directly to clots will inhibit active clot polymerization while also breaking up pre-existing clots; therefore, reversing consumptive coagulopathy and restoring hemostatic balance. To test this hypothesis, we single- and dual-loaded fibrin-specific nanogels (FSNs) with antithrombinIII (ATIII) and/or tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and evaluated their clot preventing and clot lysing abilities in vitro and in a rodent model of DIC. In vivo, single-loaded ATIII-FSNs decreased fibrin deposits in DIC organs and reduced blood loss when DIC rodents were injured. We also observed that the addition of tPA in dual-loaded ATIII-tPA-FSNs intensified the antithrombotic and fibrinolytic mechanisms, which proved advantageous for clot lysis and restoring platelet counts. However, the addition of tPA may have hindered wound healing capabilities when an injury was introduced. Our data supports the benefits of delivering both anticoagulants and fibrinolytic agents directly to clots to reduce the fibrin load and restore hemostatic balance in DIC.}, journal={ACS NANO}, author={Sheridan, Anastasia and Nellenbach, Kimberly and Pandit, Sanika and Byrnes, Elizabeth and Hardy, Grace and Lutz, Halle and Moiseiwitsch, Nina and Scull, Grant and Mihalko, Emily and Levy, Jerrold and et al.}, year={2024}, month={Jun} }
 @article{scull_aligwekwe_rey_koch_nellenbach_sheridan_pandit_sollinger_pierce_flick_et al._2024, title={Fighting fibrin with fibrin: Vancomycin delivery into coagulase-mediated <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> biofilms via fibrin-based nanoparticle binding}, volume={6}, ISSN={["1552-4965"]}, DOI={10.1002/jbm.a.37760}, abstractNote={Abstract Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft tissue infection is a common ailment placing a large burden upon global healthcare infrastructure. These bacteria are growing increasingly recalcitrant to frontline antimicrobial therapeutics like vancomycin due to the prevalence of variant populations such as methicillin‐resistant and vancomycin‐resistant strains, and there is currently a dearth of novel antibiotics in production. Additionally, S. aureus has the capacity to hijack the host clotting machinery to generate fibrin‐based biofilms that confer protection from host antimicrobial mechanisms and antibiotic‐based therapies, enabling immune system evasion and significantly reducing antimicrobial efficacy. Emphasis is being placed on improving the effectiveness of therapeutics that are already commercially available through various means. Fibrin‐based nanoparticles (FBNs) were developed and found to interact with S. aureus through the clumping factor A (ClfA) fibrinogen receptor and directly integrate into the biofilm matrix. FBNs loaded with antimicrobials such as vancomycin enabled a targeted and sustained release of antibiotic that increased drug contact time and reduced the therapeutic dose required for eradicating the bacteria, both in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, these findings suggest that FBN‐antibiotic delivery may be a novel and potent therapeutic tool for the treatment of S. aureus biofilm infections.}, journal={JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH PART A}, author={Scull, Grant and Aligwekwe, Adrian and Rey, Ysabel and Koch, Drew and Nellenbach, Kimberly and Sheridan, Ana and Pandit, Sanika and Sollinger, Jennifer and Pierce, Joshua G. and Flick, Matthew J. and et al.}, year={2024}, month={Jun} }
 @article{tigner_scull_brown_alge_2023, title={Microparticle Hydrogel Material Properties Emerge from Mixing-Induced Homogenization in a Poly(ethylene glycol) and Dextran Aqueous Two-Phase System}, volume={56}, ISSN={0024-9297 1520-5835}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.3c00557}, DOI={10.1021/acs.macromol.3c00557}, abstractNote={Polymer–polymer aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) are attractive for microgel synthesis, but given the complexity of phase separation, predicting microgel material properties from ATPS formulations is not trivial. The objective of this study was to determine how the phase diagram of a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and dextran ATPS is related to the material properties of PEG microgel products. PEG-dextran ATPSs were prepared from four-arm 20 kDa PEG-norbornene and 40 kDa dextran in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), and the phase diagram was constructed. PEG microgels were synthesized from five ATPS formulations using an oligopeptide cross-linker and thiol-norbornene photochemistry. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed that the polymer concentration of microgel pellets linearly correlates with the average concentration of PEG in the ATPS rather than the separated phase compositions, as determined from the phase diagram. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and bulk rheology studies demonstrated that the mechanical properties of microgels rely on both the average concentration of PEG in the ATPS and the ATPS volume ratio as determined from the phase diagram. These findings suggest that PEG-dextran ATPSs undergo homogenization upon mixing, which principally determines the material properties of the microgels upon gelation.}, number={21}, journal={Macromolecules}, publisher={American Chemical Society (ACS)}, author={Tigner, Thomas J. and Scull, Grant and Brown, Ashley C. and Alge, Daniel L.}, year={2023}, month={Oct}, pages={8518–8528} }
 @article{zhang_scull_gluck_brown_king_2022, title={Effects of sterilization methods on gelatin methacryloyl hydrogel properties and macrophage gene expression in vitro}, volume={18}, ISSN={1748-6041 1748-605X}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-605X/aca4b2}, DOI={10.1088/1748-605X/aca4b2}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={1}, journal={Biomedical Materials}, publisher={IOP Publishing}, author={Zhang, Fan and Scull, Grant and Gluck, Jessica M and Brown, Ashley C and King, Martin W}, year={2022}, month={Dec}, pages={015015} }
 @article{popowski_moatti_scull_silkstone_lutz_lópez de juan abad_george_belcher_zhu_mei_et al._2022, title={Inhalable dry powder mRNA vaccines based on extracellular vesicles}, volume={5}, ISSN={2590-2385}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2022.06.012}, DOI={10.1016/j.matt.2022.06.012}, abstractNote={Respiratory diseases are a global burden, with millions of deaths attributed to pulmonary illnesses and dysfunctions. Therapeutics have been developed, but they present major limitations regarding pulmonary bioavailability and product stability. To circumvent such limitations, we developed room-temperature-stable inhalable lung-derived extracellular vesicles or exosomes (Lung-Exos) as mRNA and protein drug carriers. Compared with standard synthetic nanoparticle liposomes (Lipos), Lung-Exos exhibited superior distribution to the bronchioles and parenchyma and are deliverable to the lungs of rodents and nonhuman primates (NHPs) by dry powder inhalation. In a vaccine application, severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) protein encoding mRNA-loaded Lung-Exos (S-Exos) elicited greater immunoglobulin G (IgG) and secretory IgA (SIgA) responses than its loaded liposome (S-Lipo) counterpart. Importantly, S-Exos remained functional at room-temperature storage for one month. Our results suggest that extracellular vesicles can serve as an inhaled mRNA drug-delivery system that is superior to synthetic liposomes.}, number={9}, journal={Matter}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Popowski, Kristen D. and Moatti, Adele and Scull, Grant and Silkstone, Dylan and Lutz, Halle and López de Juan Abad, Blanca and George, Arianna and Belcher, Elizabeth and Zhu, Dashuai and Mei, Xuan and et al.}, year={2022}, month={Sep}, pages={2960–2974} }