Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, have developed an extraordinary biomaterial that has the ability to 'heal from the inside-out'. Initial studies have shown that the newly developed material has the potential to effectively treat a range of heart conditions, traumatic brain injury and even pulmonary arterial hypertension. While further research has yet to be conducted, the initial results of the study are certainly promising. So, how exactly did the researchers create this extraordinary biometric tissue?
To make the biometric material, the researchers began with a hydrogel that they had already developed. They then passed the gel through a centrifuge machine, which is a device that uses centrifugal force to separate the different components of a material or fluid. Doing so allowed them to remove the large particles from the hydrogel, leaving them with only nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are just what they need to target blood vessels. For the final steps, they then passed the remaining material through a dialysis and filtering process, before freeze-drying it.
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To make the biometric material effective, the researchers added sterile water. This gives the material the ability to be either infused or injected into a coronary artery.
During the researcher's studies with the biometric material, they found that the tissue bound to the endothelial cells in the blood vessels (when someone has a heart attack, gaps form between these cells in the blood vessels). The closing of these gaps helped to accelerate the healing of the blood vessels, and also helped to reduce inflammation of the area.
The healing abilities of the material are certainly encouraging, and could potentially be used to treat even more conditions in the future. Next, the researchers want to continue their work and move toward clinical trials.