Researchers at the University of California San Diego, United States, have designed a new biomaterial for repairing damaged human tissue that does not wrinkle when it is stretched. The material marks a significant breakthrough in tissue engineering because it more closely mimics the properties of native human tissue. The biomaterial was created using a new biofabrication platform that uses light, precisely controlled mirrors and a computer projection system to build three-dimensional scaffolds with well-defined patterns of any shape for tissue engineering. The resulting tissue is able to maintain the property of not wrinkling whether the tissue patch has one or multiple layers. Shaochen Chen, a professor in the Department of NanoEngineering, hopes that future tissue patches – used to repair damaged heart walls, blood vessels and skin – will be more compatible with native human tissue than the patches available today. But, he adds, “We are also exploring other opportunities. It’s a new material. I think it’s just a matter of time before more people will pick up and find applications for it in defense, energy and communications, for instance.”
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/05-26-11NewBiomaterial.asp