Photo-activated tampon for the wound

DailyTechInfo based on Gizmag materials: Elastic, wound-healing hydrogel activated by lightMaterials belonging to the class of hydrogels have a huge potential for their use in the field of biomedicine, such materials are already used as "forests" for growing artificial tissues, they can serve as containers for the delivery of medicines and be used in many other biotechnologies.

However, such materials also have some disadvantages, their tiny micropeptide chains have sufficient chemical and biological activity, which makes them incompatible with a number of biological processes. And recently, researchers from Boston have developed a new type of hydrogel, the neutral chains of which are activated only under the influence of light. And such a hydrogel, the elasticity of which is similar to the elasticity of the tissues of the human body, can be used to heal damage as a result of wounds and injuries.

One of the disadvantages of hydrogel compositions is that they contain some chemical compounds that give the material mechanical strength and elasticity. However, over time, such compounds degrade, breaking up into component parts, some of which have harmful toxic properties. A group of bioengineers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BHW), Boston, managed to find a hydrogel composition that is free of potentially dangerous compounds, but instead of the chemical polymerization process, the new composition uses the process of photopolymerization, polymerization under the influence of light. (Elastic Gel to Heal Wounds – VM.)

The new material has a rather complicated name – photocrosslinkable elastin-like polypeptide-based (ELP) hydrogel. Under the influence of light, the molecules of this material bind, forming long stable chains capable of withstanding high mechanical loads. Superimposed on the site of tissue damage, such a hydrogel, after activating it with light, qualitatively clogs the edges of the wound, preventing infection from getting inside and stopping bleeding. The high elasticity of the material allows a person to move and, in addition, the material can change its shape, adjusting to an increase or decrease in the amount of tissue swelling at the site of injury.

"Our new hydrogel has a lot of applications, it can be used as a basis for growing tissues from stem cells, it can be injected into the body, filling unwanted cavities and disappearing as natural tissues grow," says Nasim Annabi, a scientist from the Bioengineering Department of BHW, "In addition our material can be used as an insulator that holds the tissues of the wound edges and creates a barrier through which dirt and infection cannot penetrate into the wound."

During the experiments, scientists found out that their hydrogel is decomposed by some enzymes of natural origin, without releasing any toxic substances that adversely affect living cells. In addition, if a certain amount of quartz nanoparticles is introduced into the hydrogel, it has a strong hemostatic effect, which can be very useful in field medicine, in conditions that are very far from the sterile conditions of inpatient hospitals and hospitals.

Currently, Boston scientists are conducting comprehensive tests of the new hydrogel, checking its properties and safety in relation to living organisms. And only after completing many preliminary tests will scientists be able to proceed to testing their miracle material on humans.

Article by Zhang et al. A Highly Elastic and Rapidly Crosslinkable Elastin-Like Polypeptide-Based Hydrogel for Biomedical Applications is published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials – VM.

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20.07.2015