A ``smart suture'' that can administer drugs to the affected area and sense inflammation will be developed
A multifunctional decellularized gut suture platform: Matter
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2023.04.015
'Smart' Sutures Could Aid Drug Delivery and Surgical Healing | Technology Networks
Engineers design sutures that can deliver drugs or sense inflammation | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Developed in ancient Rome, catgut was made from the intestines of herbivores, but modern catgut is generally made from generated collagen derived from cows, sheep, and goats. A research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has improved the modern Catgut, which is not only durable and water-absorbing, can be used for suturing the gastrointestinal tract, but also has advanced functions such as complete healing of inflammation and administration of drugs 'Smart suture' I started developing yarn.
The research team set the goal of developing advanced sutures to improve the postoperative course of Crohn's disease, which causes inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract such as the small intestine and large intestine. In particular, we focused on two functions: ``holding the resected intestine in place when sutured'' and ``detecting when inflammation does not progress normally''.
The research team proceeded with the development of sutures from a material called 'De-gut', which was processed from porcine tissue to remove cells. According to the research team, sutures formed by drying and twisting 'De-gut' have strength comparable to conventional standard catgut. In addition, since 'De-gut' removes porcine cells from the tissue, the risk of ' rejection ', in which the immune cells present in the patient's digestive tract recognize the suture as a foreign substance and attack it, is reduced. I'm here.
After solving the problems of suture strength and rejection, the research team next aimed to give sutures advanced functions, such as sensing inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract, delivering drug molecules, and transporting living cells. A microparticle-embedded
By embedding `` matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)'', an enzyme related to inflammation, in the hydrogel, if the peptide released by MMP is detected in the patient's urine, ``inflammation is occurring at the suture site.'' can.
In addition, by coating the hydrogel with the anti-inflammatory drugs dexamethasone and adalimumab , it is possible to administer the drug to the affected gastrointestinal tract while controlling the rate.
The research team embedded ``stem cells tagged with fluorescent markers'' into the developed smart suture and conducted transplantation experiments into mice. As a result, the stem cells survived for at least 7 days and were able to produce vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a growth factor that promotes the growth of blood cells . This experimental result suggests that smart sutures may be used not only for drug therapy but also for cell therapy such as stem cell therapy .
Giovanni Traverso of the research team said, ``The suture we developed is a suture covered with a hydrogel coating that can be equipped with sensors to detect and treat inflammation that occurs in the gastrointestinal tract. Luckily, this coated suture also has the ability to sustain cell viability for extended periods of time.'
The research team is conducting further tests of the smart suture developed this time and is working on building a mass production process. In addition, the possibility of using this suture in sites other than the gastrointestinal tract, which was the development goal of this time, and the possibility of applying it to the administration of other types of drugs such as antibiotics and chemotherapy were also investigated. I'm here. Associate Professor Omid Veise, a bioengineer at Rice University, said, ``The smart suture developed by the research team has the potential to be applied to a wide range of therapeutics, including small molecules and biologics. You have done an excellent study demonstrating diversity.'
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