- Number 349 |
- October 31, 2011
New technologies bolster function of prosthetic limbs
Schematic of the drug
loading
and release
process of the
carbon
nanotube (CNT)
nanoreservoirs. (A) Drug
solution
is filled into the
interior of acid
treated
CNTs through sonication;
(B) Pyrrole is added to
the
suspension containing
CNTs and
Dex and
electropolymerization is
carried out; (C) Drug is
released
from CNT
nanoreservoirs to
surroundings through
diffusion
or electric
stimulation.
A team of scientists from DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory and the University of Pittsburgh’s Bioengineering Department are using new forms of nanotechnology to improve neural-controlled prosthetic implants. These technologies are of particular interest to the U.S. military for treating soldiers and veterans who have suffered loss of a limb during service.
Neural-controlled prosthetics allow recipients to manipulate their artificial limbs by means of microelectrode implants placed in the brain or in other neural tissue.
One major barrier limiting the development of these prosthetics is decreased performance over time due to rejection of the microelectrode implant, the formation of scar tissue at the neural implant, or the loss of neural tissue in areas surrounding the implant. Microelectrode implants that can deliver anti-inflammatory drugs and other anti-rejection medicines in the vicinity of the electrode are being explored to improve these prosthetic devices.
The NETL and PITT-Bioengineering team addressed the controlled release of anti-inflammatory drugs for implant applications using drug delivery devices based on carbon nanotubes. The carbon nanotubes are about 10 nanometers wide and 50 micrometers long making them attractive for storing and delivering small quantities of drugs directly to the implantation site. These carbon nanotubes are also electrically conductive and can be chemically functionalized to facilitate the interaction of the drug with the carbon nanotube.
The collaborative research team investigated a series of carbon nanotubes and was able to demonstrate that carbon nanotube-based drug delivery systems outperformed standard delivery systems by improving the amount of drug released during electrical stimulation and increasing the lifetime of the drug delivery device. The released drug was then tested for bioactivity in live cell cultures, which had improved lifetimes as a result of the drug delivered from the carbon nanotube devices.
The results of this study were recently published in the very high-impact factor journal, Biomaterials (Vol. 32, pp. 6316-6323).[Linda Morton, 304.285.4543,
Linda.morton@netl.doe.gov]
