Originally Published EMDM
March/April 2004
INDUSTRY NEWS
New Biocompatibility Test DevelopedResearchers at the
US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST; Gaithersburg, MD, USA) have developed a new method for quantitatively measuring the compatibility of materials with living tissues. The technique should produce more-sensitive and -reliable data on the biocompatibility of materials than current methods, according to researchers. They presented the technology in December at the Tissue Engineering Society International conference in Orlando, FL, USA.
The two-step process uses existing benchtop instruments. First, a polymerase chain reaction device measures the level of an organism’s cytokines when exposed to a given material. High levels of cytokines generally indicate that inflammation has been caused by nonbiocompatible materials. In the second step, exposed cells are tested for a specific protein in the cell membrane. Its presence indicates that cells are dying. This is described as a complementary test for more-serious responses to materials.
Current tests produce a yes/no result, according to NIST researchers, simply telling users that a material is minimally biocompatible or not. This new tool can indicate which materials are more biocompatible than others; indeed, the test has been called a barometer of biocompatibility. It could be used to identify new materials for use in applications ranging from contact lenses to dental coatings to bone implants.
A paper outlining the test method has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research.
To learn more, go to the NIST Web site at www.nist.gov/techbeat.
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