MENDING A broken heart was once the domain of the agony aunt, but now chemical engineers are coming up with a solution of their own.
Dr Elisabetta Rosellini at the University of Pisa is recreating the structure of a human heart in the laboratory. This could be used to mend heart tissue following cardiovascular disease or heart attack.
The aim is to develop “scaffolds” of new materials on to which fresh heart cells can be grown, said Dr Rosellini, speaking at the 24th European Conference on Biomaterials, in Dublin yesterday.
Her scaffolds use both man-made and biological products to create a shape that looks and behaves exactly like the structure of a human heart.
The most successful scaffold formula so far is made of a seaweed extract called alginate, and collagen, a protein found in skin and other organs. These two natural products are combined with a synthetic component to make a matrix that has “high similarity” to the biological structure of heart tissue.
The results were “very encouraging”, reported Dr Rosellini.
Dr Rosellini is one of more than 300 scientists presenting new research at the biomaterials conference this week. Topics range from studies on the adhesive properties of barnacles to targeted drug delivery, and include seven plenary sessions given by international leaders in biomaterials research.
Dublin Mayor Andrew Montague officially welcomed the delegates to the capital yesterday. “Biomaterials underpin the biomedical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors,” he said. “They are important not just for research but also for economics.”
Prof Abhay Pandit from the National University of Ireland Galway is the chairman and organiser of the conference, which has attracted 956 participants from all over the world.
In his opening speech, Prof Pandit highlighted the history of science in Ireland and the interaction between science and the arts. This is reflected in the conference programme, which includes a lecture from an artist who uses biomaterials in his work.
The European Society for Biomaterials conference comes at a time of “emerging exciting possibilities”, said Prof Pandit.
These exciting advances were evident in a presentation on growing muscles that can be grafted on to robots.
Scientists are building blocks of skeletal muscle on a Petri dish, using a silicon framework. These lab-grown muscles have shown “contractile activity, mimicking real muscle”, said Giada Genchi, a PhD student at the biorobotics institute in the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Italy.
Muscles currently being grown in the lab are very weak, “like a newborn puppy”, said Ms Genchi, who is working on creating a stronger version. The hope is to create a robotic limb with muscles that respond to directions from the brain, but this is a very long-term goal, she added.