ISTO's Biomaterial-based Platform Technology
ISTO Technologies has developed a biomaterial platform for tissue repair. This technology enables the company to develop a variety of scaffold-based products for tissue engineering applications. ISTO's platform technology is a patented biomaterial composed of synthetic poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and hyaluronic acid (HyA). PLGA is an excellent biomaterial for constructing three-dimensional tissue scaffolds; however, because of its innate hydrophobicity it is not optimal for cell penetration and attachment.1 To overcome this limitation, ISTO developed a process whereby HyA is entangled within the PLGA backbone structure, creating a hydrophilic scaffold that mimics the bone marrow microenvironment, which is highly enriched in HyA.2,3 The first commercial application of this technology is for bone healing.
While hyaluronic acid is present in InQu to optimize the product's handling and absorbency, haluronic acid by itself (a natural component of tissue central to regeneration and repair) is reported to mediate celllular migration and attachment. In addition, HyA is reported to play a central role in skeletal development and tissue repair.4,5,6
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