Artificial Fibre Heals Wounds

January 20, 2009

Based on a protein found in cow’s blood, it can be used like a second skin to heal external or internal wounds, says its inventor Professor Eyal Zussmann. Using the protein, bovine serum albumin, Zussmann has created the fibers from tools in nanotechnology, through a technique called electrospinning. It is closely related to the human protein, human serum albumin. The new material is such a close match that the human body cannot tell the difference. This means that wounds will heal better with less inflammation.

By connecting a needle-like spinneret to a power source, the researchers were able to release a charged liquid made from bovine serum albumin that gets drawn toward a collector plate. Stretching out to the collector plate, some of the molecules in the bovine serum albumin hold themselves together, forming a solid thread. The scientists made this possible by adding a chemical called beta-mercaptoethanol, which allows fibers to be spun into long and even threads, useful for both suture threads and conventional wound dressing materials.

“The advantage of working with nano-technology or nano-fibers is the diameter at the nanoscale provides a great surface area, a large square meter surface per gram of material,” Zussmann tells ISRAEL21c. “This is important for adhesion,” he adds, as greater surface area means a stronger potential for contact on the wound surface. “The typical size of the fibers [we created], are similar to those in our bodies. Cells sit very good on these new fibers…It’s like a skin graft.”

Excerpts from an article by Karin Kloosterman, www.israel21c.org

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