Bouklas Lab/Provided
Micrograph of a biohybrid composite material developed at Cornell shows cells (red) seeded on the fibrous domains (yellow) of collagen. The material mimics natural tissue in its softness, toughness, and ability to recruit cells and keep them alive.
Producing biomaterials that match the performance of cartilage and tendons has been an elusive goal for scientists, but a new material created at Cornell demonstrates a promising new approach to mimicking natural tissue.
The results were published July 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and provide a new strategy for synthesizing clinical solutions for damaged tissue.
Tissue has to be soft enough to bend and flex, but durable enough to withstand prolonged loading – for example, the weight a knee tendon must support. When tissue wears out or is damaged, collagen hydrogels and synthetic materials have the potential to serve as replacements, but neither alone possesses the right combination of biological and mechanical properties of natural tissue.
Now, Cornell researchers have engineered a biohybrid composite material with the essential characteristics of a natural tissue. The material consists of two main ingredients: collagen – which gives the material its softness and biocompatibility – and a synthetic zwitterionic hydrogel, which contains positively and negatively charged molecular groups.
“These charge groups interact with the negatively and positively charged groups in the collagen, and this interaction is what enables the materials to dissipate energy and achieve high levels of toughness,” said Lawrence Bonassar, the Daljit S. and Elaine Sarkaria Professor in Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering and co-lead author of the study.
The biohybrid composite approaches the performance of articular cartilage and other biological tissues, possessing 40% more elasticity and 11 times the fracture energy – a measure of durability – of the zwitterionic material by itself.
Nikolaos Bouklas, assistant professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and co-lead author of the study, said the material’s biocompatibility means it can recruit cells and keep them alive.
“Ultimately, we want to create something for regenerative medicine purposes, such as a piece of scaffold that can withstand some initial loads until the tissue fully regenerates,” Bouklas said. “With this material, you could 3D print a porous scaffold with cells that could eventually create the actual tissue around the scaffold.”
In addition, the biohybrid material is self-assembling once the two ingredients are mixed, Bouklas said, creating “the same interconnected network of collagen seen in natural cartilage, which otherwise would be extremely hard to produce.”
The research brought together four research labs from three different departments thanks to a seed grant from the Cornell Center for Materials Research. The collagen used in the biohybrid composite had already been under development in Bonassar’s lab, while the zwitterionic hydrogel was developed by the study’s co-authors Robert Shepherd, associate professor in the Sibley School, and Emmanuel Giannelis, the Walter R. Read Professor of Engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
The study’s authors are continuing to research the material and the molecular processes behind its synthesis. Bonassar said the material is well suited for the type of bioprinting pioneered in his lab, and the authors have begun experimenting with using it as a 3D-printing material.
Original Article: Soft but tough: Biohybrid material performs like cartilage
More from: Cornell University
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Biohybrid composite material
- Are Composite Biomaterials the Future of Orthopedic Surgery?
Composite biomaterials offer enhanced properties for orthopedic implants, promising better integration and longevity compared to traditional materials.
- Advanced Composite Materials & Textile Research Lab (ACMTRL)
The Advanced Composite Materials and Textile Research Laboratory (ACMTRL) located on the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus offers your company a resource for research and testing. The ACMTRL ...
- Kangde Xin Composite Material Group
Beijing Kangde Xin Composite Material Co.,Ltd. is principally engaged in the development, production and distribution of laminating films, laminating equipment and optical films. The Company's ...
- The Future Of Tank Armor: How Composite Materials Are Revolutionizing Protections
Not just being made solely out of steel, tank armor is now composed of a variety of composite materials. These materials are revolutionizing the makeup and future of tank armor. The first combat ...
- ‘Nanostitches’ Enable Lighter and Tougher Composite Materials
The sheets can be stacked and pressed into one multilayered material and made into extremely lightweight and durable structures. But composite materials have one main vulnerability: the space between ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Biohybrid composite material
[google_news title=”” keyword=”biohybrid composite material” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Biohybrid composite
- NASDAQ Composite Index (COMP) Historical Data
Real time quote data is not available at this time. Leverage the Nasdaq+ Scorecard to analyze stocks based on your investment priorities and our market data.
- Nasdaq composite today: The index is up by 1.59%
The Nasdaq composite has historically had a high correlation with the S&P 500. The two indices even share common components, including Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet. Like the S&P 500, the Nasdaq ...
- Posts Misrepresent Views of Eclipse With Composite Images
But social media posts have shared altered or composite images of these phenomena, claiming one image was “captured by NASA.” It was actually an artist’s rendering of a composite photo of ...
- S&P/TSX Composite Index: Definition, Constituents, How To Buy
The S&P/TSX Composite Index is a capitalization-weighted equity index that tracks the performance of the largest companies listed on Canada's primary stock exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).
- A microalgae–material hybrid promotes carbon neutrality
In nature, organisms can form organic-inorganic composite materials with complex ... MMH offers opportunities to boost semi-biohybrid research and synchronously inspires investigation of biotic ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Biohybrid composite
[google_news title=”” keyword=”biohybrid composite” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]