Hydrogels show promise in a new study conducted to mend broken hearts – both figuratively and literally.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, researchers from the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, and Duke University, published their findings after developing a new type of hydrogel made from cellulose nanocrystals derived from wood pulp.
The new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the hydrogel was engineered to mimic the fibrous nanostructure and properties of human tissues.
“We are building on work from my PhD to design human-tissue mimetic hydrogels that can be injected into the human body to deliver therapeutics and repair the damage caused to the heart when a patient suffers a heart attack,” said Chemical engineering researcher at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Elisabeth Prince.
The nanofiber scaffolding aims to regrow and heal damaged heart tissue after a heart attack. Similarly, the hydrogel could deliver medications directly to tumors to test cancer treatment effectiveness before administering them to patients. This personalised approach may help develop customised therapies.
As director of the Prince Polymer Materials Lab, she designs synthetic biomimetic hydrogels for biomedical uses like tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The unique nanofibrous architecture supports cell growth while nutrient and waste transport affect mechanical properties.
“Cancer is a diverse disease and two patients with the same type of cancer will often respond to the same treatment in very different ways,” Prince said.
“Tumour organoids are essentially a miniaturised version of an individual patient’s tumour that can be used for drug testing, which could allow researchers to develop personalized therapies for a specific patient.”
Prince hopes the injectable filament hydrogel can literally mend broken hearts on Valentine’s Day and beyond by healing cardiac tissue post-heart attack. Her human-tissue mimicking research continues to push the boundaries of health innovations in Canada. Only time will tell if hydrogels can help heal hearts in more ways than one.
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