TROY, N.Y. — Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have engineered
nanoscale materials that are blood compatible using heparin, an anticoagulant.
The heparin biomaterials have potential for use as medical devices and in medical
treatments such as kidney dialysis.
The researchers prepared several materials with
heparin composites or coatings, including carbon
nanotubes, nanofibers, and membranes with nanosized
pores, and then demonstrated the materials' high
compatibility with blood. Heparin is a common therapeutic
used to maintain blood flow or prevent clotting during
medical procedures and treatments.
The researchers demonstrated the composite heparin
membrane with nanopores could work as an artificial
kidney, or dialyzer, by filtering the blood and maintaining
its flow. The presence of this blood-compatible dialyzer
could potentially eliminate the need for systemic
administration of heparin to the patient during kidney
dialysis, the researchers say.
The heparin-coated membranes are described in a
paper titled “Ionic Liquid-Derived Blood Compatible
Membranes for Kidney Dialysis,” published online
Apr. 24 in advance of print in the Journal of Biomedical
Materials Research .
“These heparin composite membranes and fibers and
coated carbon nanotubes are an enabling technology,” says
Saravanababu Murugesan, a recent doctoral graduate
in chemical and biological engineering at Rensselaer
and lead author of the paper. “Our results show these
novel materials have great promise in the development
of improved medical devices that are blood compatible.”
The research team is led by Robert
Linhardt , the Ann and John H. Broadbent Jr.
'59 Senior Constellation Professor of Biocatalysis
and Metabolic Engineering at Rensselaer, and includes
collaboration with Pulickel Ajayan, the Henry Burlage
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering,
and Omkaram “Om” Nalamasu, professor of materials
science and engineering, at Rensselaer. Additional
co-authors of the paper are Shaker Mousa, director
of the Pharmaceutical Research Institute at Albany
College of Pharmacy, and Aravind Vijayaraghavan,
a recent doctoral graduate in materials science
and engineering at Rensselaer. Funding for this
research was provided by the National Institutes
of Health.
Recent results related to this work have been published
online in the journals Langmuir (“Blood Compatible
Nanotubes – Nano-based Neoproteoglycans,” Mar. 11,
2006) and Biomacromolecules (“Preparation of Biopolymer
Fibers by Electrospinning from Room Temperature Ionic
Liquids,” Jan. 26, 2006). Provisional patents have
been filed by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Research in Linhardt's group at the Center for Biotechnology
and Interdisciplinary Studies at Rensselaer focuses
on complex carbohydrates such as heparin. After determining
the structure of these molecules, researchers study
their biological activities to establish a structure-activity
relationship that may reveal lead compounds for new
drug development. Recent discoveries include a synthetic
method for preparation of heparin in quantities large
enough for use in medical treatment.
Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Rensselaer
At Rensselaer, faculty and students in diverse academic and research disciplines
are collaborating at the intersection of the life sciences, the physical
sciences, and engineering to encourage discovery and innovation. Rensselaer's
four biotechnology research constellations - biocatalysis and metabolic engineering,
functional tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, biocomputation and
bioinformatics, and integrative systems biology - engage a multidisciplinary
mix of faculty and students focused on the application of engineering and
physical and information sciences to the life sciences. Ranked among the
world's most advanced research facilities, the Center
for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Rensselaer provides
a state-of-the-art platform for collaborative research and world-class programs
and symposia.
About Rensselaer
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, is the nation's oldest technological
university. The university offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees
in engineering, the sciences, information technology, architecture, management,
and the humanities and social sciences. Institute programs serve undergraduates,
graduate students, and working professionals around the world. Rensselaer
faculty are known for pre-eminence in research conducted in a wide range
of fields, with particular emphasis in biotechnology, nanotechnology, information
technology, and the media arts and technology. The Institute is well known
for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the
marketplace so that new discoveries and inventions benefit human life, protect
the environment, and strengthen economic development
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