Sam Brusco, Associate Editor12.07.21
McGill University scientists have made a significant advance in regenerative medicine by engineering a biomaterial strong enough to repair the heart, muscles, and vocal cords.
Led by professor Luc Mongeau and assistant professor Jianyu Li, the team developed a novel injectable hydrogel to repair wounds. The biomaterial allows room for cells to thrive once injected, creating a stable, porous structure for live cells to grow or pass through to repair injured organs.
“The results are promising, and we hope that one day the new hydrogel will be used as an implant to restore the voice of people with damaged vocal cords, for example laryngeal cancer survivors,” Guangyu Bao, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at McGill University, told the press.
To test their hydrogel’s durability, the researchers developed a machine to simulate the extreme biomechanics of vocal cords. The biomaterial stayed intact vibrating at 120 times a second for over six million cycles. Other standard hydrogels broke into pieces.
According to the scientists, this novel material offers possibilities for drug delivery, tissue engineering, and making tissues for drug screening. The team is also aiming to use the hydrogel to create lungs for COVID-19 drug testing.
“Our work highlights the synergy of materials science, mechanical engineering, and bioengineering in creating novel biomaterials with unprecedented performance. We are looking forward to translating them into the clinic,” said professor Jianyu Li.
Led by professor Luc Mongeau and assistant professor Jianyu Li, the team developed a novel injectable hydrogel to repair wounds. The biomaterial allows room for cells to thrive once injected, creating a stable, porous structure for live cells to grow or pass through to repair injured organs.
“The results are promising, and we hope that one day the new hydrogel will be used as an implant to restore the voice of people with damaged vocal cords, for example laryngeal cancer survivors,” Guangyu Bao, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at McGill University, told the press.
To test their hydrogel’s durability, the researchers developed a machine to simulate the extreme biomechanics of vocal cords. The biomaterial stayed intact vibrating at 120 times a second for over six million cycles. Other standard hydrogels broke into pieces.
According to the scientists, this novel material offers possibilities for drug delivery, tissue engineering, and making tissues for drug screening. The team is also aiming to use the hydrogel to create lungs for COVID-19 drug testing.
“Our work highlights the synergy of materials science, mechanical engineering, and bioengineering in creating novel biomaterials with unprecedented performance. We are looking forward to translating them into the clinic,” said professor Jianyu Li.