BME MS Defense Announcement for Maaz Khurram (T. Qazi, advisor)

Everyone is invited to attend the public presentation beginning at 9:30 AM.

Title: Development of Naturally Derived Decellularized Extracellular Matrix Granular Hydrogels for Skeletal Muscle Tissue Repair

Date: November 24^th, 2025

Time: 9:30 AM

Location: MRGN 129 and Zoom

https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/98585758402?pwd=mnRJ2LKQHMnIvblsKXVDKcYG2JvCK3.1 

Thesis Committee Members:

Dr. Taimoor Qazi (Chair)

Dr. Deva Chan

Dr. Rachel Surowiec

Abstract:

Skeletal muscle injuries such as volumetric muscle loss (VML) result in excessive loss of muscle tissue, leading to permanent functional disability. Natural and synthetic biomaterial-based therapeutics have emerged as strategies to restore muscle tissue and function, providing a microenvironment that is crucial for guiding cell invasion and tissue repair. However, synthetic biomaterials lack the essential biochemical cues that regulate cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation. In contrast, natural decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) based hydrogels have limited porosity for cell infiltration in a skeletal muscle repair context. In this thesis, we developed naturally derived dECM-Ru/SPS (dECM-Ruthenium/Sodium persulfate) granular hydrogels as a minimally invasive injectable therapeutic in response to VML injury in a mouse model. We hypothesize that dECM-Ru/SPS granular hydrogels retain the bioactive properties of the native ECM and facilitate endogenous cell invasion for tissue regeneration and recovery, compared to bioinert PEGDA granular hydrogels. For this purpose, dECM-Ru/SPS microgels were fabricated via water-in-oil batch emulsions and assembled into dECM-Ru/SPS granular hydrogels with centrifugation. Moreover, rheological characterization of dECM-Ru/SPS granular hydrogels exhibited tunable viscoelastic and shear-thinning behavior suited for minimally invasive injectable applications. Subsequently, we determined the porosity of dECM-Ru/SPS granular hydrogels to understand their potential for cell invasion and tissue growth. Furthermore, in an in vivo VML injury model, we observed enhanced bioactivity of dECM-Ru/SPS granular hydrogels compared to PEGDA granular hydrogels, as evidenced by a decrease in wound area over 4 weeks, which promotes early vascularization and the formation of newly regenerated myofibers. Altogether, these findings highlight the promising potential of injectable and porous dECM-Ru/SPS granular hydrogels, which retain essential biochemical cues for endogenous repair after muscle injury.