A material spun from common blood protein could be used for wound sutures, large dressings, and antiadhesion membranes, such as those used in abdominal surgery.
Researchers from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have been working on the biological material. They believe the protein-based material would be less at risk of being rejected by the body and it would be less prone to scarring compared with wound materials currently on the market.
The material is derived from globular protein bovine serum albumin. The protein is spun into thick mats using electrospinning, a technique that uses an electrical charge to pull and stretch liquid droplets into nanosized fibers.
According to one report, many researchers have used the technique to spin fibers from organic materials, hoping to mimic the strength and elasticity of natural substances such as spider silk, for example. However, it has been a challenge to spin organic materials into stable threads, making it necessary to spin a blend of artificial and natural molecules.
Most proteins adopt a coiled shape, which scientists attempt to straighten out by adding artificial molecules to the protein during electrospinning. The researchers found a way to break the protein’s bonds and turn it into a linear polymer without using additional molecules to force it into a fibrous shape.
The Technion researchers now plan to test the electrospinning technique on other proteins.
Material produced by bacteria may have potential for use in forming support for cartilage and bone tissue growth, according to new research from Virginia Tech Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering.
Researchers have developed a new technology for controlling the motion of bacteria that produce cellulose. The use of bacterial cellulose for biomaterials has been limited because its mechanical properties cannot be controlled beyond thin, flexible layers. The material has been shown to be inert in lab animals.
Details of the research can be found here.
A new material could be used to create devices that remove impurities from blood. The material might be particularly suitable for blood glucose sensors and hemodialysis membranes.
The nanoporous ceramic is being tested by researchers at the biomedical engineering department at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A study published in Biomedical Materials suggests that the human body will not reject the ceramic. It could lead to a new era of kidney dialysis machines.
More than 50 national and regional companies are participating in the Nov. 4-6 conference at the Grand Wayne Conference Center in Fort Wayne, TX. The event is hosted by the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
Featured industry speakers include John Devine from Inviobio Biomaterial Solutions, Laura Whitsitt of Smith & Nephew (global orthopedic research and innovation), and Lance Barrow from CBS. Participants include Astro Medical Devices, the Fort Wayne Metals Research Products Corporation, Medicraft, Memry Corporation, Oberg Medical, Stericycle and Symmetry Medical.
A start-up biomedical company is assembling a completely artificial heart which it says will be ready for use by 2011. Backed by the noted French scientist Alain Carpentier, the VC group Truffle, and the French innovation agency, Carmat will develop the new heart in a facility close to Paris.The prosthetic heart uses a biomaterial based on chemically-treated animal tissue and employs technology that has been used to develop replacement heart valves. The prototype heart pumps blood much like the organ itself. It is intended initially for patients with the most severe forms of heart damage.
“We are moving from pure research to clinical applications. After 15 years of work, we are handing over to industry to produce an artificial heart usable by man,” Carpentier said.
A scientific panel has formally urged FDA to rethink a recent conclusion that a chemical used in baby bottles and infant formula packing is safe at current levels, reports WebMD.The chemical, called bisphenol A (BPA), is an ingredient in hard plastics. Consumer and environmental groups and several foreign regulatory bodies have called for the chemical to be banned over concerns that it may pose a health risk.
FDA concluded in August that the levels humans typically consume are safe. Earlier this week, a scientific subcommittee rejected that view, saying the agency ignored several studies and that it was premature to declare the chemical safe for human consumption.
On Friday, a scientific advisory board signed off on that report, in effect urging the agency to reconsider its conclusion.
FDA — although revisiting its assumptions about safe BPA levels — is still not recommending any change in consumer behavior. The agency is concerned that switching away from formula could pose a nutritional risk to infants that outweighs any benefit of avoiding BPA.
