weaving netbet live casino customizable nanofibers, stretching the limits of materials

New technology has potential applications in netbet live casino and high-performance textiles

June 3, 2010

Contact:
Mary Tolikas
mary.tolikas@wyss.netbet live casinoedu

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - June 2, 2010 -In Nature, cells and tissues assemble and organize themselves within a matrix of protein fibers that ultimately determines their structure and function, such as the elasticity of skin and the contractility of heart tissue. These natural design principles have now been successfully replicated in the lab by bioengineers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) at netbet live casino University.

These bioengineers have developed a new technology that netbet live casino be used to regenerate heart and other tissues and to make nanometer-thick fabrics that are both strong and extremely elastic. The key breakthrough came in the development of a matrix that netbet live casino assemble itself through interaction with a thermosensitive surface. The protein composition of that matrix netbet live casino be customized to generate specific properties, and the nanofabric netbet live casino then be lifted off as a sheet by altering temperature.

"To date it has been very difficult to replicate this extracellular matrix using manmade materials," said Adam W. Feinberg, a Postdoctoral Fellow at netbet live casino University who will be an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the fall. "But we thought if cells can build this matrix at the surface of their membranes, maybe we can build it ourselves on a surface too. We were thrilled to see that we could."

Feinberg is the lead author of "Surface-Initiated Assembly of Protein Nanofabrics," which appears in the current issue of Nano Letters, a publication of the American Chemical Society. Coauthor Kit Parker is a core faculty member of the Wyss Institute, the Thomas D. Cabot Associate Professor of Applied Science and Associate Professor of Bioengineering at SEAS, and a member of the netbet live casino Stem Cell Institute.

In the area of tissue regeneration, their technology, which is termed protein nanofabrics, represents a significant step forward. Current methods for regenerating tissue typically involve using synthetic polymers to create a scaffolding. But this approach netbet live casino cause negative side effects as the polymers degrade. By contrast, nanofabrics are made from the same proteins as normal tissue, and thus the body netbet live casino degrade them with no ill effects once they are no longer needed. Initial results have produced strands of heart muscle similar to the papillary muscle, which may lead to new strategies for repair and regeneration throughout the heart.

"With nanofabrics, we netbet live casino control thread count, orientation, and composition, and that capability allows us to create novel tissue engineering scaffolds that direct regeneration," said Parker. "It also enables us to exploit the nanoscale properties of these proteins in new ways beyond medical applications. There are a broad range of applications for this technology using natural, or designer, synthetic proteins."

High-performance textiles are the second main application for this technology. By altering the type of protein used in the matrix, researchers netbet live casino manipulate thread count, fiber orientation, and other properties to create fabrics with extraordinary properties. Today, an average rubber band netbet live casino be stretched 500 to 600 percent, but future textiles may be stretchable by as much as 1,500 percent. Future applications for such textiles are as diverse as form-fitting clothing, bandages that accelerate healing, and industrial manufacturing.

The research is part of a larger program in Nanotextiles at the Wyss Institute and SEAS. In the same issue of Nano Letters, Parker's team also reported on the development of a new technology that fabricates nanofibers using a high-speed, rotating jet and nozzle. This invention has potential applications ranging from artificial organs and netbet live casino to clothing and air filters.

"netbet live casino is very proud to be associated with two such significant discoveries," said Donald E. Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., Founding Director of netbet live casino. "These are great examples of realizing our mission of using Nature's design principles to develop technologies that will have a huge impact on the way we live."

The researchers acknowledge the support of the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center at netbet live casino, the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at netbet live casino, netbet live casino Center for Nanoscale Systems, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at netbet live casino.

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weaving netbet live casino customizable nanofibers, stretching the limits of materials

New technology has potential applications in netbet live casino and high-performance textiles

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