Ultra-thin patches to regenerate the tissues

Ultrathin microscopic patches that act inside the human body directly on the tissues of cartilage, bones and muscles, stimulating their regeneration. The discovery, published in the ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces magazine, is due to the research group coordinated by the Institute of BioRobotics of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa, in collaboration with the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, the University of Genoa and the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland.

To regenerate organs and tissues without resorting to transplants or prostheses, scholars have combined for the first time a mixture of with nanoparticles composed of zinc oxide. These nanocerotti are then, through a small non-invasive surgery, hooked to the tissue, to which they attach thanks to their ultra-thin thickness.

Once anchored, the patch can last up to 90 days inside the human body, ensuring its therapeutic effect only on damaged tissue. Once its action is over, the polymers used are reabsorbed and degraded into reabsorbable components.

"The material we created - comments Lorenzo Vannozzi, first author of the research - interacts very well with muscle, bone and cartilage cells. By acting directly on the tissue affected by a disease, the ultra-thin patch has a regenerative effect". It is a first step, adds Leonardo Ricotti, professor of the Institute of BioRobotics, "towards the development of intelligent materials that allow, thanks to their stimuli, to regenerate the tissues. In the coming months we will try to develop 3D systems by combining them with others physical stimuli, such as ultrasound, to increase its therapeutic potential ".