Light-Activated Technology Could Treat Battlefield Injuries

A new tissue bonding technology could replace conventional sutures, staples, and glues in repairing skin wounds, reconnecting severed peripheral nerves, blood vessels, tendons, and incisions in the cornea.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA, USA), the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR; Arlington, VA, USA), and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH; Boston, USA) are developing photochemical tissue bonding (PTB), a technique that involves creating bonds or nanosutures by applying a dye to the wound or damaged tissue, and then exposing it briefly to green light; the dye absorbs the light and helps to molecularly bond proteins on the tissue surface. PTB differs from regular sutures by continuously joining the tissue surfaces on a molecular level, rather than only at the discrete suture points. In addition, PTB does not incite foreign body reactions, nor does it create lacerations during passage of the needle and knotting, injuries that may initiate scarring.

"We have demonstrated that this technology is very helpful in medicine for the Air Force because it produces better healing and functional outcomes than the same wounds that were treated with conventional materials,” said coresearcher Irene Kochevar, M.D., Ph.D., of Harvard and MGH. "No glues, proteins or other materials are used that might stimulate an inflammatory response. An immediate, water-tight seal is formed between the tissue surfaces, leading to reduced inflammation in the near term and better scar formation in the long term.”

"We are approaching this challenge by identifying the basic molecular mechanisms responsible for light-activated cross-linking,” added Prof. Kochevar. "We believe that this information will show us how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the nanosuturing technology on the battlefield.”

Related Links:
Harvard Medical School
U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Massachusetts General Hospital