Could This New Material Replace Traditional Sutures and Implants?
In a significant advancement toward creating life-like materials for medical applications, a team led by researchers from CU Boulder and the University of Pennsylvania has developed a new 3D printing method. This method allows for the production of materials that are both strong and elastic, making them suitable for various medical uses, such as internal bandages, cartilage patches, and needle-free sutures. The breakthrough, detailed in the Aug. 2 edition of the journal Science, enables the creation of materials that can withstand the heart’s beating, endure joint pressure, and easily conform to a patient’s unique anatomy. Notably, these materials can adhere to wet tissue.
Jason Burdick, a professor of chemical and biological engineering at CU Boulder’s BioFrontiers Institute and senior author of the study, emphasized the importance of this innovation. “Cardiac and cartilage tissues have very limited capacity to repair themselves. By developing new, more resilient materials, we can significantly impact patient care,” he said.
Historically, biomedical devices were made using molding or casting, which is efficient for mass production but not ideal for custom implants. 3D printing has revolutionized this field by enabling the creation of materials in various shapes and structures. One promising material, hydrogel, often used in contact lenses, has been challenging to adapt for medical implants due to its tendency to break, crack, or be too stiff.
Burdick and his colleagues drew inspiration from the behavior of worms, which form “worm blobs” with both solid and liquid-like properties. By incorporating similarly intertwined molecular chains, known as “entanglements,” they developed a new printing method called CLEAR (Continuous-curing after Light Exposure Aided by Redox initiation). This method allows for the creation of tougher and more elastic hydrogels.
In laboratory tests, the materials produced using CLEAR were found to be exponentially tougher than those made with traditional 3D printing methods like Digital Light Processing (DLP). Moreover, these materials could conform to and adhere to animal tissues and organs. Matt Davidson, a research associate in the Burdick Lab and co-first author of the study, stated, “We can now 3D print adhesive materials strong enough to mechanically support tissue, something we couldn’t do before.”
The team envisions a future where these materials could be used for various medical applications, such as repairing heart defects, delivering tissue-regenerating drugs, or even replacing traditional stitches with non-damaging adhesive alternatives. They have filed for a provisional patent and plan to conduct further studies to explore the materials’ interactions with human tissues.
In addition to medical applications, the new 3D printing method could benefit research and manufacturing. The CLEAR method eliminates the need for additional energy to cure parts, making the process more environmentally friendly. Abhishek Dhand, the study’s first author and a doctoral candidate in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, noted, “This is a simple 3D processing method that can improve the mechanical properties of materials for a wide variety of applications.”
Other contributors to the study include Hannah Zlotnick, a postdoctoral researcher in the Burdick Lab, and scientists Thomas Kolibaba and Jason Killgore from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Source: Could This New Material Replace Traditional Sutures and Implants?
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