<p>Israeli researchers have developed novel cardiac patches made from gold particles that could be transplanted into the body to replace damaged heart tissue.<br /><br /></p>.<p>They discovered that gold particles are able to increase the conductivity of bio-materials to better restore heart function. "Our goal was two-fold: To engineer tissue that would not trigger an immune response in the patient and to fabricate a functional patch not beset by signalling or conductivity problems," said Tal Dvir from the Tel Aviv University's department of biotechnology.<br /><br />Dvir's team presented their model for a superior hybrid cardiac patch, which incorporates bio-material harvested from patients and gold nano-particles.<br /><br />According to Dvir, recent efforts in the scientific world focus on the use of scaffolds from pig hearts with the goal of implanting them in human patients.<br /><br />However, due to the presence of remnants of antigens such as sugar or other molecules, the human patients' immune cells are likely to attack the animal matrix.<br /><br />In order to address this immunogenic response, Dvir's group suggested a new approach.<br /><br />"Fatty tissue from a patient's own stomach could be easily and quickly harvested, its cells efficiently removed, and the remaining matrix preserved. This scaffold does not provoke an immune response," he noticed.<br /><br />To address the second dilemma of establishing functional network signals, researchers explored the integration of gold nano-particles into cardiac tissue to optimise electrical signalling between cells.<br /><br />They deposited gold nano-particles on the surface of patient-harvested matrix, decorating the bio-material with conductors.<br /><br />"The result was that the non-immunogenic hybrid patch contracted nicely due to the nano-particles, transferring electrical signals much faster and more efficiently than non-modified scaffolds," Dvir pointed out. The study appeared in the journal Nano Letters.<br /></p>
<p>Israeli researchers have developed novel cardiac patches made from gold particles that could be transplanted into the body to replace damaged heart tissue.<br /><br /></p>.<p>They discovered that gold particles are able to increase the conductivity of bio-materials to better restore heart function. "Our goal was two-fold: To engineer tissue that would not trigger an immune response in the patient and to fabricate a functional patch not beset by signalling or conductivity problems," said Tal Dvir from the Tel Aviv University's department of biotechnology.<br /><br />Dvir's team presented their model for a superior hybrid cardiac patch, which incorporates bio-material harvested from patients and gold nano-particles.<br /><br />According to Dvir, recent efforts in the scientific world focus on the use of scaffolds from pig hearts with the goal of implanting them in human patients.<br /><br />However, due to the presence of remnants of antigens such as sugar or other molecules, the human patients' immune cells are likely to attack the animal matrix.<br /><br />In order to address this immunogenic response, Dvir's group suggested a new approach.<br /><br />"Fatty tissue from a patient's own stomach could be easily and quickly harvested, its cells efficiently removed, and the remaining matrix preserved. This scaffold does not provoke an immune response," he noticed.<br /><br />To address the second dilemma of establishing functional network signals, researchers explored the integration of gold nano-particles into cardiac tissue to optimise electrical signalling between cells.<br /><br />They deposited gold nano-particles on the surface of patient-harvested matrix, decorating the bio-material with conductors.<br /><br />"The result was that the non-immunogenic hybrid patch contracted nicely due to the nano-particles, transferring electrical signals much faster and more efficiently than non-modified scaffolds," Dvir pointed out. The study appeared in the journal Nano Letters.<br /></p>