‘Spider web inspired implant may control type 1 diabetes’


Team Udayavani, Jan 3, 2018, 4:18 PM IST

New York: Scientists have developed a novel removable implant, inspired by the properties of spider web, that may effectively help control type 1 diabetes. For people with type 1 diabetes, daily insulin injections are literally a matter of life and death. In the disease, insulin-producing pancreatic cell clusters (islets) are destroyed by the body’s immune system.

While there is no cure, a research team led by Cornell University in the US has devised an ingenious method for implanting hundreds of thousands of islet cells into a patient. They are protected by a thin hydrogel coating and, more importantly, the coated cells are attached to a polymer thread and can be removed or replaced easily when they have outlived their usefulness.

Transplantation of stem cell-derived, insulin-producing islet cells is an alternative to insulin therapy, but that requires long-term immunosuppressive drug administration. One well-researched approach to avoid the immune system’s response is to coat and protect the cells in tiny hydrogel capsules, hundreds of microns in diameter.

However, these capsules cannot be taken out of the body easily, since they are not connected to each other, and there are hundreds of thousands of them. The ability to remove the transplant is key because of its potential to form tumours, researchers said.

“When they fail or die, they need to come out. You do not want to put something in the body that you cannot take out. With our method, that is not a problem,” said Minglin Ma, assistant professor at Cornell University.

Taking inspiration from the way water beads on a spider’s web, Ma and his team first attempted to connect the islet cell-containing capsules through a string but realised that it would be better to put the hydrogel layer uniformly around a string instead.

That string is an ionised calcium-releasing, nanoporous polymer thread, the researchers said. This thread – which the group has dubbed Thread- Reinforced Alginate Fiber For Islets enCapsulation (TRAFFIC) – was inspired by a spider’s web but, according to Ma, is even better because the hydrogel covers the thread uniformly.

“You do not have any gaps between capsules. With a spider’s silk, you still have gaps between the water beads. In our case, gaps would be bad in terms of scar tissue and the like,” he said. This therapy would involve minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery to implant about six feet of hydrogel- coated thread into the patient’s peritoneal cavity.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Wayanad LS bypoll: Priyanka in lead by over one lakh votes

Indian-American leaders applaud PM Modi for inclusive growth in India

Doctors remove over 50 toothbrushes from man’s stomach in B’luru

Wayanad LS bypoll: Priyanka in lead by over 55,000 votes after close to 2 hrs of counting

Perth Test: Day 2 Lunch — Bumrah gets five-for as Australia bowled out for 104

Maharashtra assembly polls: Mahayuti leads in 146 seats, MVA ahead in 132

Kaziranga National Park to be centrepiece of 12th edition of ITM in Assam

Related Articles More

Mangaluru: Campco opposes WHO’s claim of arecanut being carcinogenic

10 month baby gets new heart, new life

World COPD Day: Know your lung function

As Delhi chokes with dangerous pollution levels, doctors warn of health risks for all

World Diabetes Day 2024: Kasturba Hospital Manipal Hosts Zumba Session at Malpe Beach to Raise Diabetes Awareness

MUST WATCH

Christmas Cake Fruit Mixing

DK Shivakumar

Rose Cultivation

Geethotsava

Naxal Operation


Latest Additions

Pets, street animals suffer as pollution levels rise in Delhi

Wayanad LS bypoll: Priyanka in lead by over one lakh votes

Indian national arrested in US for illegally supplying aviation goods to Russia

Mangaluru: Campco opposes WHO’s claim of arecanut being carcinogenic

Udupi: RSS senior pracharak Bhaiyyaji Joshi visits Sri Krishna Matha

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.