Modern technologies in the treatment of wounds
The principle of action of biogel is quite simple: the gel together with a solution of nanoparticles is applied to the surfaces of tissues that are stuck together, which are bound with the help of a gel. This happens due to molecular interaction. This phenomenon is called adsorption. At the same time, the gel binds together nanoparticles, forming a myriad of new compounds between the two dispersed wound surfaces. This adhesion process takes only a few minutes and does not entail any chemical reactions.
In the course of the experiment, French researchers compared the 2 method of skin closure with the deep wound on it: by applying an aqueous solution of nanoparticles with a brush and traditional sutures in medicine. In this case, the option of applying a solution of nanoparticles seems to be the easiest to use and very quickly covers the skin, until it heals itself. The process takes place without inflammation and tissue necrosis, and the scar at the wound site is almost imperceptible.
In another experiment, which was also conducted on experimental rodents, scientists applied their solution to the soft tissues of internal organs, such as the lungs, liver, and spleen, which are difficult enough to sew because they tear when the surgical needle passes through them. Faced with a deep wound to the liver, French specialists were able to close the wound, applied an aqueous solution of nanoparticles to it, and squeezed the wound edges together. Bleeding managed to stop. To repair the liver lobe, they again applied the nanoparticles as a special film that was applied to the wound and stopped the bleeding. Both cases ended well for the rats, the liver function was restored, and the animals themselves remained alive.
This adhesion method has shown its exclusivity, since its potential promises a very wide range of clinical use. To obtain nanoparticles, the French used iron oxides and silica, which can be absorbed by the human body quite easily. This method can later be fairly easily integrated into current research for tissue regeneration and treatment. With a successful outcome, he is able to revolutionize clinical practice.
Synthetic collagen for wound healing
Collagen is a fibrillar protein that has a special tertiary structure. Collagen molecules are formed by a triple helix, which consists of polypeptide chains. In the human body, this substance plays a very important role, forming the matrix of connective tissue and ensuring the process of its elasticity and strength. One of the most important properties of collagen is its ability to accelerate the process of adhesion and coagulation of platelets. These properties are used in modern medicine, but doctors have to use natural collagen, which is obtained from animals, usually from cows. Such collagen causes a number of concerns, as it can cause an immune response of the body, an inflammatory process or serve as a carrier of infection.
In the American laboratory of Geoffrey Hartgerink at the University of William Marsh Rice (a private research university in the USA located in Houston), collagen of synthetic origin was obtained a few years ago by scientists. As a result of laboratory studies, it was found that the new hydrogel based on synthetic collagen is able to bind together platelets, activating their ability to aggregate. This significantly accelerates the process of stopping bleeding, while experts do not note the occurrence of inflammatory processes.
The lack of response of the human immune system and the aggregative properties distinguish the material created in Houston from many commercial analogues. Naturally, such a substance cannot be used to stop serious bleeding, synthetic collagen does not replace a tight bandage and a tourniquet, but in a hospital operating room it is very difficult to find an analogue for stopping surgical bleeding.
In addition to direct surgical use, Hartgerink and his colleagues are thinking about the possibility of using new material for healing small wounds and supporting transplants. It is reported that synthetic collagen is able to form the basis for the attachment of all types of cells and the growth of new tissues. This substance may be subject to modification in accordance with the specific intended use. The immunological inertness and chemical purity of synthetic collagen are important advantages and an additional guarantee of success.
The use of modern materials in medicine
The field of using new biological materials, including those based on nanoparticles, is very extensive even within medicine, but it can become a real panacea in surgery. Developers believe that new substances will be indispensable when conducting operations on the vascular system of the spinal cord and brain, on the abdominal organs, in dentistry. Currently, during operations on the liver and when large formations are removed from the body, all assistants pay a lot of attention to attempts to stop the bleeding.
The methods used today are not very successful, we are talking about light freezing and absorbent wipes. At the same time, blood loss is not always reimbursed to the patient, not to mention the loss of time and quality of canned blood. The introduction of new biological and nano-substances can significantly reduce the time of operations, reduce the amount needed for blood transfusion, reducing to zero the associated manipulation of doctors on the arteries and veins. At the same time, the possibility of infection entering the wound is reduced, for example, during operations on the liver or intestines.
A special area of use of new nanomaterials, which are able to quickly stop the blood and heal wounds, are various rescue services. They can be used by rescue teams during road and railway accidents, plane and train crashes, during natural and man-made disasters, as well as in military medicine. At the same time, new materials based on nanotechnology do not lose their unique properties even with sufficiently long storage.
Modern nanosubstance - synthetic collagen, or synthetic peptide, also has such an excellent property as the ability to disintegrate in the bloodstream over time, while most modern drugs to stop bleeding remain in the human body for a long time. This aspect of the use of modern nanopreparations (their harmlessness and a number of other parameters) requires additional experiments. But there is no doubt that the future of medicine is behind such drugs.
Information sources:
http://gearmix.ru/archives/10943
http://remedium.ru/news/detail.php?ID=61497
http://www.rusnanotekh.ru/Nanotechnology%20in%20medicine/nanomed%206.aspx
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