Cuts, tears, abrasion and other damage to the outer skin is pretty easy to fix. If the damage is serious — it should be stitches. In most cases, you can restrict the usual band-aid. But with the internal organs, this approach does not work. Although sometimes there are minor injuries not requiring major surgery. For these purposes, a group of researchers from the US have created a “patch” that can heal wounds in the intestines.
Why you need a “patch” to the intestine?
First and foremost, of course, it will help with the disease called “duodenal ulcer”. After all, the open ulcer regularly subjected to mechanical and physical effects and heals very poorly, enveloping and drugs are very long. Just as is the case with erosions and other damage to the walls of the intestine. In addition, we cannot rule out the use of the material in the healing of stitches after operations (“sealing” them inside) and so on.
What is a “patch” for the intestines
In fact, the word “patch” in quotes not just. Similar there is not so much the principle of use (measured-cut-pasted), but the essence of how the “patch” (closing the wound to further heal). In itself, the invention is a mixture of probiotic hydrogels made from mucoadhesive nanofibers. Sounds complicated? All really quite simple: hydrogels based on mucoadhesive nanofibers allow substances to “bond” with the surface of the intestine. And the word “probiotic” means that the substances promote growth and development “useful” microflora.
This brand new and unique new type designed of live material, — says one of the inventors Dr. Neil Joshi from the University of veys. Moreover, it does not require special storage conditions. A lot of conditions are suitable for the storage of conventional drugs.
How to create a “plaster for intestinal
According to scientists, to create the material they use genmodificirebuli non-pathogenic strains of E. coli bacteria to obtain hydrogels. These hydrogels have a viscosity strongly reminiscent of the viscosity of mucus in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Moreover, different parts of the gastrointestinal tract mucus viscosity is different, but bacteria can be “programmed” differently to ensure that the hydrogel was affected by exactly where you need it.
See also: the Patches instead of injections — a new type of flu vaccine.
To enable the formation of hydrogels, the researchers programmed a non-pathogenic strain of the intestinal bacterium E. coli for the synthesis of variant protein CsgA curli. It is responsible for the production of mucus.
Naturally produced biofilms is known to hinder the healing process of wounds, if not timely removed. We essentially “hacked” one of the primary mechanisms that allows “patches” to perform its function of primary wound healing. After work, they “self-destruct” and do not interfere with the further process of regeneration.
Not without a stage of laboratory tests. With the introduction hydrogels laboratory rodents through the mouth, it was found that hydrogels capable of withstanding the aggressive environment of the stomach and reach the “place of action”, saving up to 90% active substance. When it became known that if the hydrogels are live bacteria, it prolongs the period of their validity the production of new mucus. Thus, adjusting the amount of bacteria, you can control the duration of the “patch”. Than bacteria — so it is above. And Vice versa.
Now scientists aim to conduct a series of tests on people. According to the authors of inventions, their development will help in treating a number of pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract. In particular, peptic ulcer disease of the duodenum.
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