A team of researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have designed a ground-breaking material that is designed to prevent the buildup of scar tissue around implantable devices. The team’s work is described in a recent article published in Nature.
Scarring is one way the body responds to and heals from an injury, even beneficial “injuries” like surgical procedures. Certain procedures, such as those that are designed to implant medical devices into the body, face the problem of scarring all the time. Pacemakers, one of the more commonly implanted devices, can have challenges functioning due to scarring. When the body’s immune system prompts the development of scar tissue around implanted devices, they don’t work as effectively as they should, putting patients at risk.
To overcome this problem, researchers at MIT have come up with a groundbreaking new material that could help protect these implantable devices and ensure they work properly. Specifically, the material, a hydrogel adhesive, is designed to ensure the device stays connected to surrounding tissue, but without the corresponding response from the immune system that triggers scarring.
To make such a powerful material, researchers designed something that uses cross-linked polymers, or hydrogels. Hydrogels in particular are an effective material that can help protect implantable devices against the kind of scarring that can impede their functioning.
The idea for this hydrogel material evolved out of the team’s long history working with medical adhesives, particularly, adhesives designed to seal surgical wounds without prompting immune responses. For example, the team tested adhesives on certain devices implanted in various areas of rats and other animals, and did not find evidence of scar tissue build up. Upon closer inspection the team notice an initial inflammatory response, including response with neutrophils, but one that quickly went away.
The team hopes their idea could have benefits for a range of implantable devices, including devices designed to deliver medications to patients.
Sources: Science Daily; Nature
