Silk patch to repair damaged heart |
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati have fabricated a 3D cardiac tissue patch using silk protein membranes seeded with heart muscle cells. The patch can potentially be used for regenerating damaged heart tissue. The 3D patch that is fabricated can be implanted at the site of damage to help the heart regain normal function. It can also be used for sealing holes in the heart, according to Biman Mandal from the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Guwahati, who led the research. Cardiac tissue gets permanently damaged when oxygen supply is reduced or cut off during a heart attack. The damaged portion gets scarred and does not contract and relax, which over time leads to a change in the shape of the heart and reduced pumping capacity. While currently available grafts fail to mimic the structure and the function of the native heart tissue as well as maintain high cell numbers, the patch developed by the IIT Guwahati researchers scores over these on many counts. The team led by Prof. Mandal tested both mulberry (Bombyx mori) and non-mulberry (Antheraea assama) silk to fabricate the membrane. Silk proteins extracted from raw silk were used for fabricating the membrane by using a mould.
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