I love interdisciplinary journals, but I had not stumbled across Soft Matter, where physics meets chemistry meets biology for fundamental soft matter research, until today when the following story caught my eye:
(Via Red Orbit)
"Scientists are turning to cotton candy as a novel tool to help grow replacement tissues for people. It seems the long-time favorite treat may provide an ideal way to generate a network of blood vessels within lab-grown skin, bone, muscle or fat for breast reconstruction, researchers say.
Dr. Jason Spector of New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York and Leon Bellan of Cornell University conducted the research on the new technique.
It works by first pouring a thick liquid chemical over the cotton candy, and waiting for the liquid to solidify into a chunk. The chunk is then put in to warm water to dissolve the cotton candy, leaving small channels where the strands of cotton candy used to be. Eventually, what is left is a piece of material containing a network of fine channels.
These channels are then lined with cells to create artificial blood vessels. The solid chunk can be seeded with immature cells of the type of tissue scientists wish to make.
Since the block is biodegradable, as it disappears it is slowly replaced by growing tissue. Ultimately what remains is a piece of tissue permeated with tiny blood vessels."
Assuming this technique will be refined, it would have incredible implications for organ transplantation, regenerative medicine, artificial wombs, as well as other medical uses.
What can I can say but "Sweet!"?
1 comment:
Maybe a future therapy!
It will be interesting for artificial womb and regenerative medicine.
It will complete the possibilities of cell therapy, gene therapy and transplant of fabric. This will be a more. Maybe it will be possible to repair a man totally? Which perspective!
So great!
Thanks
patricia
Post a Comment