Sometimes science doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel — it just needs to find clever shortcuts. While complex bioengineering and sophisticated nanotechnology are pushing medicine forward, researchers recently found an unexpected boost for tissue healing in an everyday grocery store item: yogurt.
In a new study published in Matter, researcher from Columbia University and the University of Padova in Italy formulated an injectable gel for tissue regeneration infused with particles derived from yogurt.
These tiny particles, called extracellular vesicles (EVs), naturally come from cells and are packed with proteins and genetic material. They’re essential for sophisticated communication between cells, something synthetic materials often struggle to replicate.
Healing with Dairy Particles
“This project started as a basic question about how to build EV-based hydrogels. Yogurt EVs gave us a practical tool for that, but they turned out to be more than a model,” said Santiago Correa, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia in a press release. “We found that they have inherent regenerative potential, which opens the door to new, accessible therapeutic materials.”
The Nanoscale Immunoengineering Lab at Columbia University focuses on drug delivery and, of course, immunoengineering. The team saw that yogurt EVs could do double duty: act as healing agents and help build the gel structure itself.
To create their tissue-repairing gel, the scientists designed a hydrogel system where yogurt EVs served two roles. First, they acted as bioactive cargo, carrying all the natural healing signals that cells recognize. Second, they functioned as structural building blocks, in combination with biocompatible polymers to form a stable yet flexible injectable material.
Using yogurt EVs gave the team a major advantage. Harvesting EVs in large quantities is usually expensive and inefficient, limiting their use in medical treatments. But yogurt is full of them, offering an easily accessible, low-cost source. For this study, the teams from Columbia and Padova combined their knowledge of nanomaterials and polymer-based hydrogels with their expertise in agricultural EV sourcing, showing how powerful cross-disciplinary work can be.
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Yogurt Mimics Bodies Natural Environment
The yogurt-infused hydrogel does more than just hold cells together. It actively engages surrounding cells, promoting healing and tissue regeneration without needing extra chemical additives. Because it mimics the mechanics of living tissue, it creates an environment that feels natural to the body.
Even better, early experiments showed that when injected into mice, the gel was completely biocompatible and encouraged the growth of new blood vessels within a week, a crucial part of effective tissue repair. The treated mice showed no adverse reactions; instead, their tissue regeneration processes kicked into high gear.
By adding yogurt EVs directly into the gel’s structure, the material also enables sustained delivery of its healing signals. Due to its injectable nature, it can be brought anywhere it’s needed.
Opening New Doors for Regenerative Medicine
The team didn’t stop at yogurt. They also tested EVs derived from mammalian cells and bacteria, proving that their hydrogel platform is flexible and can work with different vesicle sources. This adaptability could be a game-changer for wound healing and regenerative medicine, especially since current treatments lack the ability to repair tissue long-term.
Another intriguing finding was that the hydrogel was bursting with anti-inflammatory cells. This immune response may be part of why it accelerates healing so effectively, and it remains the subject of continued research.
“Being able to design a material that closely mimics the body’s natural environment while also speeding up the healing process opens a new world of possibilities for regenerative medicine,” said Artemis Margaronis, a graduate research fellow and lead author of the study. “Moments like these remind me why the research field in biomedical engineering is always on the cusp of something exciting.”
In the end, while bioengineers often rely on cutting-edge lab inventions, sometimes the most innovative solutions come from simply looking at what nature — and the dairy aisle — has already perfected.
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
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