Liquid Composite May Restore Damaged Soft Tissue

At Johns Hopkins, Biomedical Engineers have developed a new liquid material, made of hyaluronic acid and polyethylene glycol, to restore damaged soft tissue. The liquid is a composite of biological and synthetic molecules and is made into a solid structure with light after being injected under the skin. The advantage to having a material that is a composite of both biological and synthetic molecules is that synthetic materials are rejected by the immune system, but biological materials tend to be broken down by the body too quickly to be able to be used long-term. However, the composite allows for durability, as well as compatibility in the body. The hyaluronic acid is the biological component that is a natural component of skin in young people and the polyethylene glycol is the synthetic material that is commonly used as surgical glue in operations.

The biomedical researchers wanted the composite with the greatest long-term stability, so they tested many different concentrations under the skin and into the back muscle of rats. The implants were measured at 47 days and 110 days by an MRI and then removed. Once finding the concentration that not only stayed in place, but also was the same size overtime, the safety and persistence of the PEG-HA implants with a 12-week experiment in three volunteers already undergoing tummy-tuck surgery. During the experiment, none of the patients experienced any hospitalization, disability, or death that was related to the liquid composite. Once the implants were removed, some inflammation was noted around the implants due to certain types of white blood cells. This inflammation was also seen in the rats, but the types of white blood cells that caused it differed between rats and humans. The next step for the Johns Hopkins team is going to be to evaluate the liquid composite in different tissues in humans to see how it reacts. This will allow them to optimize the liquid composite for different procedures.

Currently, as stated above, the liquid material has shown promise in rats and humans, but is not ready to be used in widespread clinical use. The team hopes that the liquid composite will be help people with facial deformities, who undergo social and psychological trauma on a daily basis.

Source:

http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=10260