A Smart Polymer That Would Heal Wounds Without Sutures

AHA Publisher — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 08:00:52 +0000

Brian Blum via Israel21c – It’s long been a staple of science fiction to mock the simple suture as outdated. And why not – the wound-closure technique has been in use for at least 5,000 years. Prof. Hossam Haick’s chemical engineering lab at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology has created a smart suture-less dressing that binds the edges of a wound together, wards off infection, and even digitally reports on the wound’s condition to the surgeon. The dressing would be applied to the area before a surgical incision is made. Following the surgery, the two ends of the wound bind together within three seconds. The dressing can release antibiotics to help prevent infection, and it is connected wirelessly to the medical team’s smart devices. The smart dressing can deliver real-time reports on changes in temperature, pH and glucose levels. Haick says he came up with the idea late one night after “watching a movie on futuristic robotics with my kids. I thought, what if we could really make self-repairing sensors?” Haick got to work on his idea the next day. But there was a problem: The sensor was not biocompatible, meaning that it couldn’t be used in contact with skin and blood. Creating a polymer that would be both biocompatible and self-healing was achieved by Haick’s postdoctoral student Ning Tang. Tang’s polymer is like a molecular zipper made from sulfur and nitrogen. The surgeon’s scalpel opens it, then when pressed together it closes and holds fast. Integrated carbon nanotubes provide electric conductivity and integrate the sensor array. In lab experiments, wounds closed with the smart dressing healed as fast as those closed with sutures. Moreover, they showed reduced rates of infection. “We’ve introduced the advances of the fourth industrial revolution – smart interconnected devices,” Haick says. “It’s a new approach to wound treatment.” He reports that the technology is now patented. “We have started discussions with a few agencies towards bringing this technology to the market.” Haick is a prolific inventor. ISRAEL21c first wrote about him in 2013 when he developed Na-Nose, a device that can detect various cancers through a simple in-office breath test. Next came “e-skin” and wearable health monitors. Earlier this year, we reported on the A-Patch, a skin sticker that can diagnose tuberculosis. This was developed in Haick’s lab and supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The invention is described in the journal Advanced Materials. To read the original article click here.

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Thin, Stretchable Biosensors Could Make Surgery Safer

AHA Publisher — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 07:00:20 +0000

Los Alamos National Laboratory via Newswise – A research team from Los Alamos National Laboratory and Purdue University have developed bio-inks for biosensors that could help localize critical regions in tissues and organs during surgical operations. “The ink used in the biosensors is biocompatible and provides a user-friendly design with excellent workable time frames of more than one day,” said Kwan-Soo Lee, of Los Alamos’ Chemical Diagnostics and Engineering group. The new biosensors allow for simultaneous recording and imaging of tissues and organs during surgical procedures. “Simultaneous recording and imaging could be useful during heart surgery in localizing critical regions and guiding surgical interventions such as a procedure for restoring normal heart rhythms,” said Chi Hwan Lee, the Leslie A. Geddes Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and, by courtesy, of Materials Engineering at Purdue University. Los Alamos was responsible for formulating and synthesizing the bio-inks, with the goal of creating create an ultra-soft, thin and stretchable material for biosensors that is capable of seamlessly interfacing with the surface of organs. They did this using 3D-printing techniques. “Silicone materials are liquid and flow like honey, which is why it is very challenging to 3D-print without sagging and flowing issues during printing,” Kwan-Soo Lee said. “It is very exciting to have found a way to create printed inks that do not have any shape deformation during the curing process.” The bio-inks are softer than tissue, stretch without experiencing sensor degradation, and have reliable natural adhesion to the wet surface of organs without needing additional adhesives. Craig Goergen, the Leslie A. Geddes Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University, aided with the in vivo assessment of the patch via testing in both mice and pigs. The results showed the biosensor was able to reliably measure electrical signal while not impairing cardiac function. The research was published today in Nature Communications. It was funded by Science Campaign 2. To read the original article click here.

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A Smart Polymer That Would Heal Wounds Without Sutures

Thin, Stretchable Biosensors Could Make Surgery Safer