Researchers at Arizona State University recently demonstrated the ability to repair wounds on animals using a laser and special laser-activated nanomaterial. Early demonstrations show the new approach producing a leakproof seal that takes less time to form than it does using traditional suturing techniques.
The material being used is made of gold nanorods that are embedded into a special type of purified silk. When a laser is introduced to the material, the heat it generates causes the silk to bond with the skin, creating a seal that is up to seven times stronger than traditional sutures. While the laser is hot enough to react with the material, it’s not powerful enough to damage the skin.
Researchers have created two distinct types of this nanomaterial. One is water-resistant, for use in areas in which more liquid is present, as with the intestine. The other formulation involves mixing the laser-activated nanosealant with water. This allows for application on superficial skin wounds.
Although the technique hasn’t yet been tried on humans, it has successfully treated soft-tissue wounds in animal models. These cases include healing a wound in a pig intestine, as well as a wound on mouse skin. In both cases, researchers felt that the laser-based approach outperformed medical-grade sutures, staples, or glue.
A paper describing this research, entitled "Rapid Soft Tissue Approximation and Repair Using Laser‐Activated Silk Nanosealants," was recently published in the journalAdvanced Functional Materials.
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