Juan Taboas, MS, PhD, a biomedical engineer at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, is developing in-the-battlefield therapies to prevent infection and speed bone regrowth. This research could someday help heal blast injury fractures among military personnel.
Explosions during combat cause massive open wounds, shattering bones into small fragments. Difficult, non-sterile treatment conditions lead to infections in about 30% of these injuries.
This is why the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is supporting research by Dr. Taboas, a leader in the field of bone and tissue regeneration. He is an associate professor in the Pitt Dental Medicine Department of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, and in the Bioengineering Department at the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and a member of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
“This research spun out of our work in diseased and injured growth plates in children. That was where we first developed the hydrogel and delivery platform for bone regeneration,” said Dr. Taboas. “We saw this was an urgent need for the military and received a $1.7 million DOD grant in 2016.”
The hydrogel contains microparticles that deliver nitric oxide and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1). Nitric oxide is an endogenous antimicrobial with no known bacterial resistance. The synergy between these two components accelerates bone regeneration in fractures.
“We optimized the formulation into an antimicrobial hydrogel and tested it,” said graduate research student Gabrielle Lorenz. “And we found a unique degree of regeneration that we didn’t expect. So we filed a provisional patent in January 2025.”
Bacteria is Everywhere
Their research has produced the only known method to deliver nitric oxide to deep bone wounds. Nitric oxide penetrates the protective layer that surrounds bacteria, reducing infections.
The hydrogel is spreadable, injectable, inexpensive, and non-refrigerated—requisites for combat situations. It could help patients receive care within the “golden hour,” when they have the greatest chance of survival.
“To work in the field, it has to be shelf stable, stocked in every ambulance, in every backpack for every medic, and it absolutely has to be low cost,” said Dr. Taboas.
It also could be used in communities without access to affordable, local health care. In these locations, infections are frequent and 60% of fractures do not fully heal. “This is an example of the need to democratize regenerative medicine, make it available to everyone,” he said.
Dental Medicine Leads the Way
The hydrogel also may be useful for dental infections and pulp regeneration, aspects of Dr. Taboas’ research that are moving quickly toward commercialization.
“Dental medicine often leads the way in biomaterials development,” said Dr. Taboas. “Plus, the oral cavity is full of bacteria, so oral maxillofacial care benefits from an antimicrobial component.”
Dr. Taboas and Lorenz collaborated with military, drug delivery, and microbiology experts, including Casey Sabbag, MD, Maj, USAF, Brooke Army Medical Center; Andrew Draganski, PhD, Zylo Therapeutics; and Joshua Nosanchuk, MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
“Our research into infection and materials helps patients at Pitt Dental Medicine, but can impact the wellness of people outside of dentistry,” Dr. Taboas added. “What we learn will circle back with even more applications for dental medicine.”