Available Technology
Miniaturization of rotational velocity dependent fiber formation
Technology:
Rotary jet-spinning (RJS): new, cost-effective, versatile and user-friendly technique of nanofiber fabrication
Markets Addressed
The invention is a portable and versatile setup for production of fibers for biomedical and industrial needs. Some possible applications include:
• Surgery: This system may be used in laparascopic surgeries. The size of the system allows for insertion through a catheter, port, or main artery. This system can be used for in vivo manufacturing of organs or tissues, for example a cylindrical organ, cavity filling tissue, or organ banding.
• Biofunctional suture threads: Very fine surgical sutured can be made of RJS fiber, possibly supplemented with growth factors of small molecules promoting healing and formation of new tissue.
• Tissue engineering: The ultrathin fiber mimics fibrous components of the native extracellular matrix and can encapsulate living cells, including stem cells. Fibers can be made from naturally occurring structural proteins – for example collagen or amyloid. These proteins provide an excellent support for additional components of natural extracellular matrix. Resulting materials can be used for a variety of clinical tasks: surgical repair of bone, dental and muscle tissues, reinforcement of bodily membranes, sealing a leak, or providing a template for nerve growth.
• Drug delivery: Polymeric fibers may also be combined with other substances, such as therapeutic agents, in order to deliver such substances to the site of application of implantation of the fibers.
• In vitro analytical systems: While most healthcare products are still tested on animals, this approach is costly, time-consuming and ethically controversial. Reconstructed tissues address all of these concerns and become increasingly popular as a test platform. Small molecule or biological of interest can be applied to cells grown or tissue immobilized on RJS-made fibers and, subsequently, morphology, viability and other characteristics of cell population can be assessed. This tissue chip setup can be used in biotech R&D, clinical or regulatory testing settings.
• Non-biological uses: This apparatus may be used for non-medical or biologic applications – for example, reinforcing small cavities on high performance sporting or military equipment.
Innovations and Advantages
Spider silk is a unique material – strong, flexible and easy to stretch. So far humans have not been able to fully mimic arachnids’ ability to quickly woven high-quality protein fiber. Certain materials, such as Kevlar or Twaron possess similar mechanical properties, but are made of synthetic aramid fibers with limited biocompatibility. A portable device capable of quickly spinning together protein fibers would transform many applications – from assembling a tissue scaffold during a laparoscopic operation to producing a biodegradable and ultrastong industrial fibers.
Rotary jet-spinning technology: Researchers in Dr. Parker’s lab have invented rotary jet-spinning (RJS), a new cost effective, versatile and user friendly technique of nanofiber fabrication. In the approach, a polymer solution is flowed through a high-speed rotating nozzle to form a jet (figure A). Upon ejection, the jet thins due to centrifugal pressure, solvent evaporates and the fiber solidifies. The fiber is collected in a receiving reservoir of an arbitrary shape and the container dictates the form of the final fiber assembly. In the past the group has demonstrated utility of the approach for fabrication of synthetic materials. In the current opportunity, the technology has been updated to allow synthesis of polymer fibers.
Fabrication of protein fibers: In addition to physical transformations, protein molecules can undergo conformational changes and folding/unfolding events. For example, the RJS apparatus can be equipped with an additional bridge – proteins would unfold while passing through salt or a pH gradient and then slowly refold in the formed fiber. This reversible transition can help with packing individual protein molecules into a tight thread and can improve mechanical properties of the final product. This is one of the principles employed by spiders and silk worms and now it is possible to replicate their highly efficient spinning technique in vitro.
Miniaturization of the technology: Unlike some other fiber production methods, RJS does not require high-voltage electrical fields, which allows for miniaturization. At the moment the group has assembled a prototype that is small enough to fit in the palm. This apparatus can be used in a variety of settings, for example in an operating room during a laparoscopic surgery (figure b). The miniature setup can be used for production of both synthetic and protein fibers.
Additional Information
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Inventor(s):
Badrossamay, Mohammad Reza
Golecki, Holly McIlwee
Goss, Josue A.
Parker, Kevin Kit
Categories:
For further information, please contact:
Mick Sawka, Director of Business Development
(617) 496-3830
Reference Harvard Case #3909