Developed an ultra-thin internal organ "Band-aid" to heal wounds without leaving marks

Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, July 7: Researchers at Waseda University and Defense Medical University in Japan used the components of crab shells and kelp (a kind of kelp algae) to make only one-thousandth of the thickness of the plastic wrap. "Nano Band-Aids". Experiments show that this extremely thin "Band-aid" can effectively promote wound healing in experimental dogs' lungs.

Comprehensive Japanese media reported on the 7th that the research team used chitosan contained in crab shells and sodium alginate in kelp to synthesize transparent films and made a variety of thicknesses of “nano band-aids” with a thickness of 30 nm to 1500 nm. between. The researchers also found that if the thickness of this film is less than 200 nanometers, the thinner it is, the stronger the viscosity.

In the experiment, the researchers used the above two kinds of film components to stack one another, stacking about 40 layers, and then formed a 75-nm-thick “nano band-aid”. This "band-aid" is quite robust because the molecules of these two film components attract each other under the influence of the charge.

The researchers put a "blanket" of the above thickness, 2 cm square, on the wound of the experimental dog's lungs with a diameter of 6 mm. As a result, the "band-aid" was strong enough to withstand the air pressure during breathing. Seven days later, the experimental dog's lung wounds began to generate blood vessels. After 30 days, the wounds healed without leaving any traces.

When a soft organ such as the lung shows a wound, some doctors tend to stop the bleeding with a medical adhesive and adhere the organ tissue. However, the site where the adhesive is adhered is prone to complications and sometimes even requires reoperation. The newly developed "Nano Band-Aid" can adapt to the irregularities on the surface of the organ, tightly stick to the wound, and will not adhere to other tissues. After the wound has healed, the nano-band-aid can be naturally decomposed in the body.

Japanese researchers believe that this kind of "nano-blanket" can be used for organs that are soft and difficult to be sutured, such as stomach and liver, or organs that are easy to bleed, which helps shorten the operation time. (Reporter Qian Yu)