UCLA – Mattel Children’s hospital 

Research Project: Pediatric Cardiology Division
and Biodegradable Stent Research

The Borstein Family Foundation has supported UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital since 2007. The most recent grant commenced in 2021 and supports the Fetal & Pediatric Cardiology Programs at the hospital along with Dr. Dan Levi’s research on Bioresorbable Zinc Nanocomposite Pediatric Stents. Many infants with congenital heart disease are born with obstruction in the aorta or in the pulmonary arteries. Stents are metal scaffoldings that can hold open these obstructions, but stents are not recommended in babies because growing children require stents that either grow with the child, or biodegrade after tissue remodeling, so that the developing tissues can grow with the rest of the body. 

Unfortunately, most bioresorbable stents (BRS) in the pipeline are polymer stents designed for coronary arteries. As such, these stents are too soft to handle aortic and pulmonary pressures, and too small. Bioabsorbable metals are an attractive alternative for use as BRS. Metals have a higher mechanical strength and toughness than polymers, and many have a proven history of biocompatibility. One such metal is zinc which is well tolerated by living tissues, has a steady corrosion rate with no severe adverse events and has greater elongation to failure than other commonly studied metals for stents—important for expandable stent deployment. These properties make zinc an excellent candidate for pediatric BRS.

However, pure zinc is mechanically weak, and requires alloying to the increase its strength.  By using nanoparticle-dispersions, zinc’s mechanical properties can be improved significantly while retaining the favorable properties of zinc. Therefore, the hypothesis is that zinc-nanocomposites can be used to manufacture BRS suitable for pediatric applications that maintain sufficient structural integrity for three months before completely degrading into non-toxic byproducts. If successful, the availability of a biodegradable stent designed for the treatment arterial obstructions would revolutionize the treatment of these diseases in pediatrics by eliminating the need for open chest surgeries in infants and older children. Additionally, the knowledge gained from this research will have a broad impact on the development of safe and efficacious bioabsorbable metallic implants for many clinical applications.

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Current Grant
$50,000

Grant Term
One Year

Cumulative Grants
$710,687