Doctors use tissue engineering to repair damaged or diseased tissues by attaching the patient's own healthy cells or donated cells into temporary housing, known as scaffolds, to help the damaged area grow back normally.

Researcher Ratthaphol Rangkupan said he wanted to develop a nanofibre that can widen the use of locally made artificial tissue scaffold and artificial skin.

Materials now used for tissue engineering and skin replacements are imported and expensive, but hopes are high that local development could reduce imports and save costs for patients.

For the research project, Ratthaphol decided to go with polycaprolactone (PCL), one of the 20 bio-degradable polymers approved for use in the human body, as a key material to produce nanofibre. To make the polymer into a nano-scale fibre, he used what is called an electro-spinning process, which involves a high voltage that creates an electrically charged jet of polymer solution, known as melt. Once it dries and solidifies, only the polymer fibre remains.

Ratthaphol said this fibre could be used for many applications including filtration and tissue engineering. He can now produce PCL-based nanofibre at sizes of 200 to 300 nanometres.

The research doesn't end there. After acquiring the nanofibres, Ratthaphol had to observe how they responded to living cells. He therefore tested the PCL-based nanofibre on rats.

The result was that the fibre had capabilities to cling to cells for tissue repair.

Further work is being done to improve the fibre's performance before it is put to real use.

A study on cell activities is another concern. The researcher said that he had to check on cell activity, checking whether the fibre can perform well with cultivated tissues and ensure growth for skin substitutes, organ repair or implants.

Ratthaphol hopes that advanced research will develop a new artificial tissue scaffold that could be used for various organs.

Plans are also set to locally develop nerve guild, a substance that is key to bridging damaged nerve cells. Meanwhile, the nanofibre project is also being used to develop artificial skin. As the fibre could help grow cells and tissue, it could also be used as a skin substitute, Ratthaphol said.

Other applications that could benefit from this research project include the development of wound dressings, a filtration device for small diseases, and detection sensors, he added.

Pongpen Sutharoj

The Nation