A research team from Imperial College London, led by Dr Ben Almquist, has developed a new molecule based on so-called traction force-activated payloads (TrAPs) which allow materials to talk to the body‘s natural repair systems and thereby activate healing processes.
“Creatures from sea sponges to humans use cell movement to activate healing. Our approach mimics this by using the different cell varieties in wounds to drive healing,” said Dr Almquist.
Detailed in a paper published the journal Advanced Materials on 7 January 2019, the new work has demonstrated that incorporating TrAPs into existing medical materials could revolutionise the treatment of injuries by opening the door to next-gen materials that actively work with the body’s own tissues to encourage healing.
The idea behind the study was to recreate the process, whereby the movement of cells within collagen scaffolds that form in wounds activates dormant proteins behind the healing process, by folding DNA segments into 3D aptamers and making them cling to proteins.
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