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The problem with this method is that commercially available hydrogels do not stay in place when the patient moves. Physicians should use membranes to hold them in place, and these membranes should be sewn onto the tissue that the hydrogel is supposed to heal. However, the material of the EPFL researchers remains naturally linked to delicate problems.
In fact, the new hydrogel (composed of 90% water and composed of a dual-array matrix and a fiber network) adheres even more to tissues when it is compressed or stretched. Dominique Pioletti, one of the team leaders, explained that it was because the "double networked structure is distributing mechanical energy entering into" the hydrogel. If you load the material with repair cells or drugs, it can heal broken cartilage without having to further damage them with sutures.
Pioletti said:
"Our hydrogel is ten times more adhesive than the bioadhesives currently available on the market, like fibri, and thanks to its high water content, our hydrogel is very similar in nature to the natural tissue that it is designed to heal. "
Researchers have already proven that the hydrogel can adhere to many types of tissue. In the future, they plan to load it with different agents generally used for processing and adapt to specific applications.
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