Our bodies are not just living cells stuck between other living cells. Tissue and organs are made not just of cells, but of a matrix of fibers, proteins, and small molecules that living cells secrete and live in. This material is called the extracellular matrix, which gives structure to our bodies and a pathway for cells to communicate with each other. When the cells are washed away, the extracellular matrix, or ECM, remains, and can be used as a material…
Collagen is a natural polymer familiar to everyone. Leather is collagen. Gelatin, the powder in every jello box, is collagen. Collagen gives structure and shape to all the tissues in the body, just as it does for leather and jello. It’s use in biomedical products is at least 2,000 years old, perhaps beginning when sutures were made of catgut. For at least 100 years, collagen has been used as a simple patch to aid skin wound healing. John A. M. Ramshaw…
Bioprinting is layer-by-layer manufacturing using living cells. Small groups of cells are “printed” in precise patterns that can be built up in layers by printing one layer on top of another. With the right materials, these layers can form complex 3-dimensional structures, designed using clinical images from MRI and CT scans, that approximate living tissue. There are grande claims made by those who’s research involves bioprinting, such as one day being able to print functional organs for transplant, but its real future…
Natural biomaterials inherently provide biological signals and stimuli. When chosen properly, those natural properties aid in different types of healing. With some amount of hard work, synthetic materials can be modified to mimic some of these natural signals. Cen Chen, et al., have produced an open access review in Biomaterials Research that summarizes the presentations from a 2015 Korea-China joint symposium on biomimetic materials. Their paper does not focus on natural materials, but illustrates the amount of work put in…
Around 250,000 surgeries to repair articular cartilage are performed each year. Most of the damage surgeons are trying to fix begin as small lesions. Without treatment, small lesions become large holes that allow the bones of the joint to grind together. Sometimes these lesions are due to injury, but osteoarthritis is a large cause. Current Cartilage Repair If the lesion is small enough, the fix is just cleaning up the lesion by removing ragged tissue and waiting for healing to happen on…