of interest
26 Issue 2 2020
Screening formulations for new 3D printed wound healing materials
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new study investigates a fast, simple and cost-effective new platform for evaluating the impact of adding growth factors to formulations intended for innovative 3D-printed wound healing materials. Researchers working in the field of regenerative medicine are applying the ever-increasing knowledge of the biological processes involved in tissue repair to develop new and improved wound healing solutions. Many are currently focused on 3D printing and bio-printing technologies, which work by patterning biomaterials, biomolecules and/or cells to create materials that mimic the complexity of skin tissues and help promote the body’s natural wound healing processes. Growth factors – including epidermal growth factor (EGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) – are intrinsically involved in orchestrating several aspects of these processes. So, incorporating these molecules into new wound dressings is a logical step to improve their healing potential. But as these are expensive ingredients, strong
evidence is needed to prove that the benefits outweigh the costs. A new film-based testing platform In a new study, published in Applied Surface Science, a team of scientists explore the use of thin polysaccharide blend thin films to test the impact of including growth factors into formulations intended for 3D bio-printed wound healing materials.1 The researchers created blended alginate/carboxymethyl cellulose-based thin films loaded with and without growth factors and evaluated several of their properties at a nano-level. They analysed film formation using ATR-IR spectroscopy, evaluated their surface morphology and topography by atomic force and scanning electron microscopies. They determined their hydrophilicity using the water contact angle measurement method. Their results showed that adding growth factors into the blend films did not affect their formation or morphology, while their hydrophilicity was even slightly enhanced. The team next set out to evaluate the function and influence of the blend films on potential wound care applications in cultured human skin cell experiments. They found that the growth factors boosted cell viability.
formulations for 3D bio-printing or other wound care solutions. Although further studies will be necessary to project the performance determined using the thin films to 3D-printed growth factor-loaded wound dressings, this approach shows great promise for a robust way to evaluate and refine new formulations for use in wound healing. Author: Dr Alison Halliday This is promising for both their own potential for use in wound healing as well as their application as testing platforms to find suitable materials for other types of woundcare products, such as 3D bio-printed materials. They used ultrapure water prepared from an Elga Purelab laboratory water purification system for the preparation of all their solutions, minimising the risk of introducing contaminants that could affect the results of their experiments.
Reference: 1. Maver, U. et. al. Impact of growth factors on wound healing in polysaccharide blend thin films. Applied Surface Science; 2019: 485-49.
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Cost-effective, simple and quick These encouraging results suggest that these blended thin films may represent a simple, yet systematic and representative platform that can reduce costs and speed up the development of novel growth factor-loaded
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SAMRC – making open access to research publications a reality
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ate last year, the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) joined over twenty international research funders and charitable foundations in ensuring full and immediate access to research publications. The international consortium of research funders (cOAlition S) will support Plan S, which was established in 2018 to ensure that scientific publications that result from research funded by public grants must be published in compliant Open Access journals or platforms effective 2021. Plan S consists of 10 principles and sets out to resolve the limited access to current science literature – a challenge faced by many researchers worldwide.
“Scientific literature is one of the cornerstones of the clinical research that we conduct at the SAMRC and although there are some systems in place to make health information and evidence accessible, a collaboration between multinational research funders shows a commitment to even wider
High-quality cannabis testing assured Chem-Science Laboratories has announced the establishment of its dedicated cannabis laboratory in KwaZulu-Natal.
M Chem-Science Laboratories’ chief chemist, Simon Thompson performing the initial steps of a cannabis sample analysis
anaging director, Vic Soffiantini says this development is a direct result of the need to meet the requirements the exploding cannabis industry has created for local high-quality testing. “We have invested in specialised equipment and professionals to bring cannabis testing online,” he enthuses. “Good Laboratory Practice is in place to ensure
access to health and science information,” says SAMRC President and CEO Professor Glenda Gray. The SAMRC has made some headway in making health information and evidence widely accessible. In June 2017 the organisation collaborated with Wiley and Cochrane South Africa to obtain a National Cochrane Library Licence, offering free access to the Cochrane Library throughout South Africa and enabling all South Africans to access evidence-based healthcare research. “This is our first commitment to providing easy access to health and science information as this licence means that healthcare practitioners, policy makers, researchers and the general public now have a sustained ‘one-click’ access to free, reliable
and unbiased Cochrane Reviews,” says Professor Gray. The SAMRC joins national and international funders such as the World Health Organization (WHO), The Wellcome Trust, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Research Council of Norway among many others.
correct control throughout the laboratory via our ISO 9001 Quality Management System.” Quantitative assays will be used to ascertain the volume of THC, CBD, CBC, CBG and /or CBN in the respective identification samples. Samples can include final powders, tinctures and oil extracts.
Compliant and service orientated Chem-Science Laboratories can perform a full spectrum test on customers’ products, providing them with conclusive data on the potency, pesticide, residual solvent and terpenes, using on one test sample. “We aim to be a recognised accredited laboratory that complies with the current Good Laboratory Practice and ISO/IEC 17025,” Soffiantini concludes.
SAMRC Tel: (021) 938 0911 Fax: (021) 938 0200 info@mrc.ac.za www.samrc.ac.za
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