Crabs, shrimp's shells pave way for natural material to repair severed nerves.Byline: ANI Washington, June 20 (ANI): Researchers at the University of Washington have found that mixing chitosan, found in the shells of crabs and shrimp, with an industrial polyester creates a promising new material for the tiny tubes that support repair of a severed nerve, and could serve other medical uses. The researchers say that the hybrid fibre combines the biologically favourable qualities of the natural material with the mechanical strength of the synthetic polymer Synthetic polymers are often referred to as "plastics", such as the well-known polyethylene and nylon. However, most of them can be classified in at least three main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets and elastomers. . "A nerve guide requires very strict conditions. It needs to be biocompatible biocompatible /bio·com·pat·i·ble/ (-kom-pat´i-b'l) being harmonious with life; not having toxic or injurious effects on biological function. , stable in solution, resistant to collapse and also pliable, so that surgeons can suture suture /su·ture/ (soo´cher) 1. sutura. 2. a stitch or series of stitches made to secure apposition of the edges of a surgical or traumatic wound. 3. to apply such stitches. 4. it to the nerve. This turns out to be very difficult," said Miqin Zhang, a UW professor of material science and engineering and lead author of a paper now available online in the journal Advanced Materials Advanced Materials is a leading peer-reviewed materials science journal published every two weeks. Advanced Materials includes Communications, Reviews, and Feature Articles from the cutting edge of materials science, including topics in chemistry, physics, . The researchers combined polycaprolactone-a strong, flexible, biodegradable polyester commonly used in sutures-with chitosan at the nanometre (unit) nanometre - 10^-9 metres; one thousand millionth part of a metre. The wavelength of visible light and dimensions in nanotechnology are typically measured in nanometres. scale by first using a technique called electrospinning, and then weaved the fibres together. Zhang and colleagues reveal that the resulting material had a texture similar to that of the nano-sized fibres of the connective tissue that surrounds human cells. They highlight the fact that the two materials are different and are difficult to blend, but proper mixing is crucial because imperfectly blended fibres have weak points. The team tested a guide made from the chitosan-polyester blend against another biomaterial biomaterial /bio·ma·te·ri·al/ (bi?o-mah-ter´e-al) a synthetic dressing with selective barrier properties, used in the treatment of burns; it consists of a liquid solvent (polyethylene glycol-400) and a powdered polymer. under study, polylacticcoglycolic acid, and a commercially available collagen guide. Of the three materials, the chitosan-polyester weave showed the most consistent performance for strength, flexibility and resistance to compression under both dry and wet conditions. According to the researchers, under wet conditions, similar to those inside the body, the chitosan-polyester blend required twice as much force to push the tube halfway shut as the other biomaterial, and eight times as much force as the collagen tube. Zhang said that the new material, though showed promise for nerve guides, might also work well for wound dressings, heart grafts, tendons, ligament, cartilage, muscle repair, and other biomedical bi·o·med·i·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to biomedicine. 2. Of, relating to, or involving biological, medical, and physical sciences. applications. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion