by
Astrid Fiano, DOTmed News Writer | November 12, 2008
Advanced research from
two North Carolina
universities
A team of researchers led by North Carolina State University has released a study that could lead to new dialysis devices and other innovative medical implants. The study is published in a special issue of Biomedical Materials, and is the first in-depth study of the biological and physical properties of the membranes. The researchers have found that the unique properties of a new material can be used to create new devices that can be implanted into the human body -- including blood glucose sensors for diabetics and artificial hemo-dialysis membranes that can scrub impurities from the blood.
A main goal of researchers has been the development of medical devices that could be implanted into patients for a variety of purposes, such as monitoring glucose levels in diabetic patients. However, existing materials present significant problems. As one example, devices need to be made of a material that prevents the body's proteins from building up on sensors and preventing them from working properly. In addition, any implanted device also needs to avoid provoking an inflammatory response from the body that would result in the body's walling off the device or rejecting it completely.
Dr. Roger Narayan, an associate professor in the joint biomedical engineering department of NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, led the research that finds nanoporous ceramic membranes may be used to resolve material issues and says the nanoporous membranes could be used to "create an interface between human tissues and medical devices that is free of protein buildup."

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Importantly, the study indicates that the human body will not reject the nanoporous ceramic membrane. According to Narayan, this could be a major advance for the development of kidney dialysis membranes and other medical devices whose development has been stalled by poor compatibility with human tissues. Narayan was also the lead researcher on the team that first developed these new materials.
Adapted from a press release by North Carolina State University.