From interestingengineering.com
The wafer-thin circular patch contains electronic chips, bacterial cells and a gel made from starch and gelatine
Scientists have successfully developed a living bioelectronic device that combines living bacteria with sensors to improve skin regeneration. The innovative patch has potential to transform the treatment of people with skin psoriasis.
It also paves the way for treatments of medical needs as diverse as wounds and, potentially, multiple skin cancers.
The wafer-thin circular patch, which is about 1 inch in diameter, contains electronic chips, bacterial cells and a gel made from starch and gelatine. During the tests in mice prone to psoriasis-like skin conditions, there was a significant reduction in symptoms, without irritating skin.
The living bioelectronic device developed by researchers. University of Chicago/Jiuyun, Bozhi
Patch incorporates living cells
“We were looking for a new type of device that combines sensing and treatment for managing skin inflammation diseases like psoriasis,” said Simiao Niu, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Rutgers-New Brunswick.
“We found that by combining living bacteria, flexible electronics and adhesive skin interface materials, we were able to create a new type of device.”
Niu and collaborators, including scientists at the University of Chicago led by Bozhi Tian and Columbia University, developed the patch.
Calling it a “living drug”, Niu maintained that the patch incorporates living cells as part of its therapy.
Flexible printed circuit forms the skeleton of the device
Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis), which lives on human skin and has been shown to reduce inflammation, is incorporated into the device’s gel casing. Niu stated that a thin, flexible printed circuit forms the skeleton of the device.
When the device is placed on skin, the bacteria secrete compounds that reduce inflammation, while sensors in the flexible circuits monitor the skin for signals indicating healing, such as skin impedance, temperature and humidity, according to researchers.
Data is beamed wirelessly to a computer
The data collected by the circuits is beamed wirelessly to a computer or a cell phone, a process that would allow patients to monitor their healing process, according to School of Engineering at Rutgers-New Brunswick.
When you produce the kinds of things that positively affect people’s lives, you feel very proud. That is something that inspires me a lot and motivates me to do my current research,” said Niu.
He maintained that clinical trials to test the device on human patients must come next, as the first step toward commercialization.
Niu stressed that once there is evidence of positive results with minimum side effects, the inventors would apply for FDA approval in order to bring the device to market.
Their initial tests ran for a week, but the researchers hope the system—which they term the ABLE platform, for Active Biointegrated Living Electronics—could be used for a half-year or more. To make the treatment more convenient, the device can be freeze-dried for storage and easily rehydrated when needed, according to researchers.
Scientists also hope to extend the approach to other tissue types and cell types. “For example, could you create an insulin-producing device, or a device that interfaces with neurons?” said Tian. “There are many potential applications.”
https://interestingengineering.com/health/living-bioelectronic-patch-to-treat-skin-psoriasis
No comments:
Post a Comment