Artificial Tissue
What if you could have
almost any organ in your body replaced with a fully functional
artificial one? If if one of your organs begins to fail you could
simply have a
new, better one created just for you. Think of the impact this could have on
modern medicine, and human health as a whole. There is however one
major technological barrier that must first be overcome in the creation of
such artificial organs. Artificial
tissues that can work in a similar way as the real ones must be
engineered. For years now
researchers have been trying to develop tissue that mimics the
tissues in the human body. Such artificial tissues could be used in
implants and artificial organs such as tendons, muscles, arteries,
skin, as well as more complex organs such as the liver, heart,
kidneys, and so-on. "For modern implants and the growth of
artificial tissue and organs, it is important to generate materials
with characteristics that closely emulate nature." (-PhysOrg.com)
A team of Australian and Korean researchers has just
recently developed a revolutionary, heavily porous, sponge like
material that has properties very similar to those of
biological soft tissues in the human body. It
consists of a thick network of DNA strands that are wrapped around carbon nanotubes.
Because most biological tissues are often subjected to
intense mechanical loads, it is extremely important that any implant
material have that same sort of elasticity as biological tissue, in
order to avoid inflammation. While simultaneously, this material
also needs to be tough and resilient, or it may give out under
stressful conditions. It has been so incredibly
difficult for researchers to replicate these features. Since the
tissue material needs to be soft and porous, previous implants and
scaffolding for tissue growth have been too fragile to withstand the
stresses that tissues are continually subjected to. Or in other
cases the material would be tough enough but not soft enough.
The biological soft tissues in the body obtain their mechanical
support from a what is referred to as an "extracellular matrix,"
which is a network of protein nanofibers. The new artificial tissue
tries to closely replicate this extracellular matrix. Here PhysOrg.com
gives a detailed explanation of this new technological
achievement...
"The new concept uses
DNA strands as a matrix; the strands completely “wrap” the
scaffold-forming carbon nanotubes in the presence of an ionic
liquid, networking them to form a gel. This gel can be spun: just as
silk and synthetic fibers can be wet-spun for textiles, the gel can
be made into very fine threads when injected into a special bath.
The dried fibers have a porous, sponge-like structure and consist of
a network of intertwined 50 nm-wide nanofibers. Soaking in a calcium
chloride solution further cross-links the DNA, causing the fibers to
become denser and more strongly connected."
The new artificial tissue design is said to
closely resemble biological extracellular matrix and it's
properties. The artificial material is just as elastic as biological
tissue and at the same time has strength similar to biological
tissues which allow it to endure extreme stress. This new artificial
design also holds the addition benefit of being electorally
conductive. This means that it can be used in electrodes for energy
storage, sensors, and/or mechanical actuators. All of which could
then be used for various purposes with-in a human body...
I am expecting that we will soon be hearing a lot more
about the new tissue as further research and testing is done. There is a
strong possibility that this material may have an incredible impact on the
medical community in the coming years. It seems to me that this has
been a major step in medical technology. One that will help provide
the ground work for many future technologies and that will befit humanity for
a long time to come.
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