When tissue is damaged, many types of cells take part in repair.

If the cells needed for regeneration do not gather in sufficient numbers or settle in the right place, normal tissue formation may be impaired.

We are therefore studying an approach that aims to

identify which cells are needed
↓
find Biozipcode™ sequences that recognize those cells
↓
attach Biozipcode™ to regenerative materials
↓
promote the attachment and accumulation of the needed cells

This is the approach we are studying.

We aim to move beyond simply placing a material and toward a material that selectively recruits cells.

This is the central concept behind Biozipcode™-based regenerative materials.

Research materials describe a tissue regeneration concept that combines cell-targeting peptides with biodegradable materials.

The proposed sequence is:

Biodegradable material
＋
Biozipcode™ cell-targeting peptide
↓
Placement at a regeneration site in the body
↓
Target cells attach to the peptide
↓
Cells proliferate and accumulate
↓
The material gradually degrades
↓
Cells and tissue remain, supporting tissue formation

In this model, Biozipcode™ goes beyond drug delivery.

We aim to use it as an interface between cells and materials.

The first step in tissue regeneration is deciding which cells should be recruited to the site.

Biozipcode™ research uses phage display, in vivo biopanning, NGS, and bioinformatics to find short peptides that bind to specific cells or tissues.

For a seven-amino-acid peptide, there are 20⁷ ≒ 1.28 billion possible sequences.

From these, we compare

sequences that bind target cells
with
sequences that bind other cells

to narrow down more selective candidates.

For tissue regeneration, we aim to use this cell-recognition capacity to give a material the ability to recruit specific cells.

Regenerative medicine uses materials that support cell attachment and growth as scaffolds.

By incorporating Biozipcode™ into a scaffold, we aim to move from a

CONVENTIONAL SCAFFOLD
which provides a physical environment for cells to attach and grow,

toward a

CELL-TARGETED SCAFFOLD
which carries cell-recognizing peptides on its surface to promote target-cell attachment and accumulation.

This remains a research goal.

The core idea behind Biozipcode™ is recognizing a target.

In drug development,

Biozipcode™ ＋ drug
could deliver treatment to target cells.

In tissue regeneration,

Biozipcode™ ＋ biomaterial
could help recruit target cells to a regeneration site.

This research extends the same cell-targeting platform from

DELIVERY (bringing drugs to cells)

to

RECRUITMENT (drawing cells to a regeneration site)

as a new application.

One feature of this research concept is its aim to attract a patient’s own cells, or cells already present in the body, to the material.

Some tissue-engineering approaches collect and culture cells, seed them onto a material, and then implant it.

A cell-targeted scaffold instead aims to

place the material
↓
recruit target cells in the body
↓
support cell attachment and growth on the material

as a potential alternative approach.

If successful for particular uses, it might simplify cell collection, culture, and transplantation.

The idea that cell transplantation could be avoided has not been clinically established; it remains a research hypothesis to test.

In this pipeline, Biozipcode™ is intended as a cell-recognition tool rather than a drug that acts on cells.

We are exploring its role at the Material ↔ Cell interface.

This approach considers

which material to use
as well as

which cells should attach to it

in the design of regenerative materials.

Organs and tissues contain many types of cells.

Regenerating a complex tissue may therefore require recruiting more than one cell type.

In the future, we aim to combine targeting peptides such as

Biozipcode™ A → endothelial-lineage cells
Biozipcode™ B → pericytes
Biozipcode™ C → tissue progenitor cells

to help reconstruct more complex tissue structures.

This also connects with research to build a “cell address book” of Biozipcode™ sequences.

This pipeline is currently at the RESEARCH / PRECLINICAL RESEARCH stage.

Biozipcode™ cell-targeting technology has a research history in peptide discovery and targeting for the nervous system, cancer, and other applications.

Cell-targeted tissue-regeneration scaffolds incorporating those peptides still require basic research and preclinical proof of concept.

We are studying a regenerative approach that uses Biozipcode™ to recognize cells needed for tissue repair and recruit them to biomaterials, with the aim of supporting cell attachment, cell accumulation, blood vessel formation, and tissue formation.

Potential applications include wound healing and skin regeneration, vascularized tissue repair, and neural and soft tissues. Our goal is to develop regenerative technology that connects cells with biomaterials.