'Electronic blood vessels' that can mimic the main functions of blood vessels and promote the repair of blood vessels will be developed
In recent years, with the development of technology, the movement to reproduce body tissues with artificial ones has been progressing,
Electronic Blood Vessel: Matter
https://www.cell.com/matter/fulltext/S2590-2385 (20) 30493-8
Flexible and biodegradable electronic blood vessels | EurekAlert! Science News
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-10/cp-fab092920.php
Advances in bioelectronics have great potential to address medical problems in the heart and vascular system, and many years of development of artificial blood vessels useful for disease research, treatment of renal failure, replacement of occluded blood vessels, etc. Has been done. For these artificial blood vessels, a Chinese research team has developed an electronic blood vessel that can be implanted in the body to mimic the major role of blood vessels by combining liquid metals and medical polymers.
The newly developed electron blood vessel is composed of a membrane of a metal polymer conductor that has both biodegradability and flexibility, and can be integrated with a three-layer vascular structure. When tested for biocompatibility with human vascular cells and blood in the laboratory, the research team said that electronic blood vessels showed high biocompatibility.
Electronic blood vessels not only act as blood vessels, but also incorporate circuits that can perform tasks such as electronically stimulating vascular cells in combination with various electronic devices and delivering drugs into blood vessels by electronic control. It is. In experiments using human vascular cells, the research team said that it was confirmed that the endothelial cells of blood vessels proliferate and migrate by applying electrical stimulation to damaged blood vessels through electronic blood vessels.
In another experiment, a circuit for electroporation was incorporated into an electron vessel that used an electric pulse to make a tiny hole in the cell membrane and introduce a substance into the cell. When we investigated the performance of electroporation by electron blood vessels using vascular cells, it seems that we were able to deliver plasmids (DNA molecules other than chromosomes) into the cells by adjusting the voltage and interval of electrical pulses.
In addition, the research team also conducted experiments to implant electronic blood vessels in the body of rabbits and evaluate their effects. In this experiment, a part of the carotid artery of the rabbit was replaced with an electronic blood vessel and monitored for 3 months, and the blood flow of the rabbit remained within the average range even after the implantation of the electronic blood vessel, and no major problem occurred. It was said that. In addition, when the rabbit organs were examined after removing the electronic blood vessels, it was confirmed that the organs were not inflamed.
Given the promising results of this experiment, the research team hopes to further research the device and establish long-term safety, and when implanting it in humans, the miniaturization of the electronic device combined with the electronic blood vessel is He says he needs it. 'In the future, batteries and control systems need to be minimized and integrated, making all parts biodegradable and fully portable of functional parts,' said Xingyu Jiang, lead author of the paper. Said.
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