In a groundbreaking step that could revolutionize wound care, researchers from MIT Lincoln Laboratory and MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering are knitting together a solution to accelerate healing in soft tissues. Their collaboration is knitting the way to better health, utilizing bioabsorbable fabrics that stretch and move in harmony with human tissue, a capability traditional materials often lack, according to MIT News.
The quest to treat stubborn soft tissue injuries has led to these bioengineered fabrics, which not only bridge the gap between synthetic and biological materials but also nurture the growth of cells directly within a wound, a solution becoming more crucial in light of the increasing frequency of chronic wounds driven by diabetes, vascular diseases, and an aging populace. The fabrics provide a scaffold for precious stem cells or precursors, which grow into the wounded tissue "The human body has this hierarchical structure that actually un-crimps or unfolds, rather than stretches," Steve Gillmer, a researcher at MIT Lincoln Laboratory's Mechanical Engineering Group, explained to MIT News, pointing out the ingenuity of their approach that stops cells from stretching and dying, a common problem with current scaffolding materials.
Navigating the limitations of electrospun nanofibers, which were once a promising albeit scale-constrained material, has led researchers to the versatile realm of industrial knitting machines. Ming Guo, a professor from MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering, mentioned to MIT News that Steve Gillmer suggested using the Laboratory's access to industrial knitting machines, enabling patterns to be designed on a larger scale. Testing new ideas with these machines initiated under internal support from the laboratory, the focus shifted toward knitting robust fabrics capable of mimicking the mechanical properties of soft tissue.
The interdisciplinary team initially experimented with three basic knit constructions: interlock, rib, and jersey, embedding mouse embryonic fibroblast cells and mesenchymal stem cells in the various patterns, and examining their behavior when stretched, "For jersey, think of your T-shirt, when you stretch your shirt, the yarn loops are doing the stretching," textile specialist Emily Holtzman described, according to MIT News. Each pattern yielded variations in fabric uncrimpness and stiffness after stretching, with all demonstrating a high rate of cell survival.
With ambitions fueling their work beyond skin and muscle injuries, the team envisions their knitted creations applicable to a spectrum of soft tissues such as cartilage or fat. A provisional patent outlines the creation patterns and material specifications for tailoring these knitted structures to the mechanical properties of the injured tissue in question, as elucidated by Gillmer to MIT News. Propelled by their diverse expertise, the collaboration believes it is the cornerstone for overcoming complex health care dilemmas linked to tissue repair.
