The Effects Of Hydrogels

Over the past 11 years to date, the United States has endured almost 8000 casualties from two major conflicts (iCasualties.org, 2012). Although this number is staggering, we have also seen soldiers surviving injuries that were previously fatal (Philpott, 2005). This increase in survivability is largely due to the advancements in medical research and applied training. When it comes to military trauma, our warrior medics should be equipped with the most realistic training attainable. Although several simulation aids are used to provide this training, other methods such as live tissue training are still employed. In

All over the world, with every new war breaking out, new medical innovations came with it. With each fatal injury incurred on soldiers it was up to surgeons to come up with effective solutions. According to most experts at the time of WW11 stopping the bleeding was in quote "the most vital step" to buy time for the soldier to recuperate and survive, better limb amputation methods led to significantly decreased deaths because of shock or bleeding out. Even today, in specific times in particular during the Afghan war, American medics brought into life new clotting agents that gave the injured more time to get full treatment at a hospital. Another tool that at first was frowned upon by medics

Lastly, in case of an emergency hemorrhagic episode science has advance to the point to decrease blood transfusions to the minimum with help of medications like:

In Chapter 5, we used water soluble chitosan (with the commercial name PROTASAN UP CL 213) as received from the supplier (Novamatrix, Norway). PROTASAN UP CL 213 is based on a chitosan with 75-90% of deacetylation. It is in the form of a cationic polymer with a highly purified and well-characterized water-soluble chloride salt. Typically, the molecular weight for PROTASAN UP CL 213 is in the 150-400 kDa range.

In recent years the focus has shifted from feedstock polymers due to remarkable advancements in biotechnology. Now, bio-based polymers are being produced by bacterial fermentation of biomass to synthesize the building blocks of polymers; monomers. Another class of bio-based polymers are natural bio-based polymers, which are naturally found polymers, such as proteins and polysaccharides (linked sugar molecules). These bio-based polymers have shown high technological developments and an increase in commercial applications. Yet three main ways to yield bio-based polymers

Skin substitutes have important roles in the treatment of deep dermal and full thickness wounds of various aetiologies. At present, there is no ideal substitute in the market. Skin substitutes can be divided into two main classes, namely, biological and synthetic substitutes. The biological skin substitutes have a more intact extracellular matrix structure, while the synthetic skin substitutes can be synthesised on demand and can be modulated for specific purposes. Each class has its advantages and disadvantages. The biological skin substitutes may allow the construction of a more natural new dermis and allow excellent re-epithelialization characteristics due to the presence of a basement membrane. Synthetic skin substitutes demonstrate the advantages of increase control over scaffold composition. The ultimate goal is to achieve an ideal skin substitute that provides an effective and scar-free wound healing. These skin substitutes which act temporarily like skin, have the advantages of being relatively abundant in supply and not expensive. While the synthetic skin substitutes can be synthesised on demand and can be modulated for specific purposes with increased control over scaffold composition, the biological skin substitutes have a more intact and native ECM structure which may allow the construction of a more natural new dermis. They

There has always been a need for constant innovation in the healthcare industry. A novel invention at its inception, the liquid bandage is “a colorless adherent material that can be sprayed or painted directly on a wound.” They work by sealing off the affected area from the outside until it has fully healed, when it slips off. The time it takes for healing or time it takes before slipping off depends on the type or make of the liquid bandage. The key advantage of the liquid bandage is the ability to apply the product in situations where traditional bandages have been proven ineffective and lackluster, such as on rough parts of the body or under water. However, this innovation has not resulted in plastic or paper bandages being considered as

PHAs with useful properties such as exceptional biodegradability and biocompatibility in mammalian systems are excellent candidate for conventional medical implantation devices and tissue engineering. Furthermore PHAs could also be used as a nonspecific immobilizing matrix for protein purification and presentation. Its hydrophobic nature limits the use of PHB in gene therapy applications in order to requiring good water solubility need to have hydrophilicity,

This means that when cells are removed, only extra cellular matrix are left behind, providing architecture to support cell-in-growth. GraftJacket’s scaffold design satisfied biological requirements of being biocompatible and non-immunogenic. The patented cryogenic processing of the GraftJacket matrix prevents ice crystal formation thus minimizing any damage to the matrix to help avoid an inflammatory response to the graft.By protecting the matrix through the processing steps, the vascular channels are preserved as demonstrated in this electron micrograph.Dermis is very vascular making the GRAFTJACKET® Matrix an excellent graft template for many different tissue type repairs.Through its regenerative mechanism of action, the scaffold becomes repopulated with the patient’s own cells and is remodeled into functional host tissue, resulting in a like-for-like replacement of missing dermal tissue. This will enhance the reduction of the overall wound healthcare costs. GraftJacket scaffold provides favorable topography for cell attachment due to the porous surface. Porosities are important as they provide more space for host cell attachment, proliferation, migration as well as metabolite diffusion. It has preserved vascular channels to allow rapid infiltration of fibroblasts and vascular tissue, avoiding any inflammatory response. It then leads to the regeneration of functional host tissue. A flexible covering for the wound surface is available while maintaining the vapour loss to maintain the moisture. It is also designed that it is fenestrated to allow for wound fluid to

Try to stop the bleeding by applying pressure to the wound with a clean, dry cloth.

Ebnesajjad, S. (2013). Handbook of biopolymers and biodegradable plastics: properties, processing and applications. Oxford: William Andrew, 2013.

This review emphasizes an extensive bibliography of recent basic and applied research and investigations on the aspects of this interesting biopolymer including the recovery, preparation, modification and application of chitin and its derivatives and related compounds. A new class of biocompatible and biodegradable chitin-based polyurethane (PU) elastomer was also introduced and reviewed in this study and it was found that by incorporation of chitin into the PU elastomer backbone, biocompatibility and degradation rate of the final elastomer

Molecules found in nature (termed “natural products”) are a rich source of compounds with biological activities that are useful as drugs. Marine organisms are a particularly good source of natural products. Imagine that you are a marine biologist searching for new natural products for use as anticancer drugs. While diving at a coral reef near Tahiti, you notice an unusual sponge that you have never seen before. You collect a sample, return to your lab and make a whole cell protein extract.

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are a heterogeneous matrix of polymers comprised of mainly polysaccharides, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids (McSwain et al., 2005; Mishra and Jha, 2013). EPS are produced in two forms, either associated with the cell surface in capsular form (Sutherland, 1990) or loosely bound to the cell surface as slime polysaccharides (Suresh Kumar et al., 2007). The composition of EPS synthesised varies significantly and thus affecting the physico-chemical properties. Some of the EPS are neutral, but majority are polyanionic (Sutherland, 2001). In addition, the contents of carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids was found to have substantial effect on the flocculation of bacteria (Sheng et al., 2005). EPS are synthesized intracellularly either throughout growth, late-exponential or stationary stage (Mishra and Jha, 2013). The rate of production

Current treatment of keratoconus includes cornea transplant surgery and corneal collagen crosslinking by Riboflavin/UV light [52]. A PEG injectable hydrogel containing Tyr-Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (YRGDS) peptides was developed as a culture system for studying corneal keratocytes [53]. Keratocytes encapsulated in hydrogels remained viable for over 4 weeks with desirable mophology, and a hydrogel can support the production of collagen, biglycan, keratocan, and related DNA. However,