This fabric provides a scaffold for growing new tissue and organs, or can be added to bandages to promote faster healing with less scarring.
According to the article in MIT’s Technology Review “…when the body grows new tissue, cells secrete fibronectin--a strong, stretchy type of protein that acts as a supportive scaffold. The shape and structure that fibronectin adopts directs the subsequent growth of new cells, giving the resulting tissue the correct form.”
Scientists can now replicate this “scaffold” in the lab.
The team of Harvard scientists, lead by Kevin Kit Parker, PhD., “…can control the architecture and mechanical characteristics of the fabric by using different proteins, or changing the way they are aligned.”
This is significant because, while others have been coming up with ways to grow replacement tissue, this process “…can program direction cues into the architecture of the scaffold, and thus direct the growth of cells in the desired direction.”
An additional benefit is these are natural proteins, rather than synthetic polymers or decellularized organs, reducing the likelihood that the new tissue will be rejected once it's implanted.
How long will it be until we see commercial applications? No one knows for sure, but this is a very exciting development in the world of medical science. It will be interesting to discover how this fabric needs to be packaged!
-By Jim Chrzan, Publisher
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