. | . |
Seaweed offers the solution to transporting stem cells and wound treatment by Staff Writers Newcastle, UK (SPX) Feb 01, 2016
Publishing in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine Professor Che Connon and Dr Stephen Swioklo describe the low-cost seaweed solution. Che Connon, Professor of Tissue Engineering at Newcastle University explains: "The stem cells are surrounded by an alginate gel which protects them from the environment - a bit like frogspawn. We found them unchanged even after three days at room temperature. "This has lots of advantages and applications. For example, we have used them to make a bandage which contains human stem cells which could be applied to a wound such as an ulcer or burn to speed up the healing process."
Stem cells for healing Rather than keeping them at 37 degrees Celsius, in atmospheric oxygen and 5% carbon dioxide, encasing the stem cells in an alginate gel is shown in the academic paper to prolong their life for up to three days at ambient temperatures. This offers an effective and simple solution to many of the challenges of transporting cell cultures. Alginate is a natural material extracted from seaweed that is used in cosmetics, food manufacturing and more recently in healthcare. Alginate on its own without stem cells is used in wound dressings to keep burns moist. The study found that after three days at a range of temperatures (between 4 and 21 degrees C) up to 90% of the stem cells were still viable and available for healing. Medically, 70% viability is considered acceptable. The team think that the alginate encapsulation offers a degree of protection from the environment. They also believe it may be acting like a corset, preventing the stem cell from expanding and being destroyed, a process known as lysing - which would normally occur within a day when unprotected cells are stored in their liquid state.
Stem cell encapsulation method Dr Stephen Swioklo describes the process: "The stem cells are grown from the standard frozen form and then mixed into the alginate solution. This is extracted from a type of brown algae, a seaweed commonly used in food and medical applications. "This can either be dropped into a vial of calcium chloride which forms cross-links making the alginate set, forming tiny beads. Or the gel can be placed into a mould to form a film which sets in a couple of minutes. We have used this to make plasters and bandages. "One circular disc just an inch diameter was demonstrated in our study to effectively preserve a million stem cells and could easily contain up to 10 million." The 'Stem-gell' bandage has many potential uses from paramedics treating people at the scene of an accident to the army battlefield. Some of the work has been funded by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), part of the Ministry of Defence.
Related Links Newcastle University The Clone Age - Cloning, Stem Cells, Space Medicine
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |