Biocompatible implants: made in Tomsk
TPU scientists develop biocompatible implants,
which are not rejected by the body after surgery
Biocompatible coatings for implants discovered by polytechnics are not rejected by the body, which accelerates regeneration.
Bioengineering booth at the TPU Exhibition Center
"The development and improvement of hybrid materials for regenerative medicine is relevant all over the world now. Scientists and doctors are trying to make medicine sparing, – says the head of the research team that developed biocompatible coatings, associate professor Sergey Tverdokhlebov. – They have been trying to solve this problem for decades, using a variety of approaches. The human body perceives any foreign body as hostile.
And nowadays up to 35% of implants used in traumatology are rejected. And this means severe pain in patients, repeated operations. In order for injuries and wounds to heal faster, the surface of medical implants should be biocompatible, that is, as similar as possible to living human tissues. This can be achieved by applying special coatings."
Now at TPU, the creative team of the Department of Theoretical and Experimental Physics has developed several technologies that make it possible to obtain biocompatible coatings for implants with different properties. For example, polytechnics have developed a coating for the spokes of the Ilizarov apparatus – it is used for splicing bones after fractures, congenital pathologies and even for the sake of increasing the length of the legs.
"The metal rods that surgeons used for these purposes earlier often led to complications," notes Sergey Tverdokhlebov.
– Now we are applying a special calcium-phosphate coating to the steel spokes that were rejected by the body with the help of a high-frequency magnetron sputtering installation developed by us. It is very close to bone tissue in composition and takes root well in the body, does not give a risk of complications."
He noted that in three years of hard work, TPU scientists have reached a semi-industrial production volume. They actively cooperate with the Academician Ilizarov Center in Kurgan, supply their products to medical institutions in Kazan and Tomsk.
According to Sergey Tverdokhlebov, the materials developed by the team are successfully used in a variety of tissue engineering strategies – with the use of pharmaceuticals, cells, growth factors, in a bioreactor, in a donor bed. The development received a gold medal at the National Science and Technology Fair - 2013 in Bangkok. This is a major specialized event where companies from all over the world establish and develop mutually beneficial contacts with scientific organizations, industrial enterprises, innovative companies from Southeast Asian countries.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru16.12.2013