Creating materials that behave like living tissue is an ever closer prospect thanks to a University of Trieste – Keio University (Japan) study just published in Advanced Science.

The international research team that conceived the paper consists of Pierangelo Gobbo, Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at UniTS, Prof. Taisuke Banno and PhD student Tomoya Kojima from Keio University.  

The scientists have developed an innovative method for assembling ‘prototissue’ fibres from microscopic vesicles, demonstrating how it is possible to synthesise materials that mimic the behaviour of human body tissue from scratch. The process exploits the adhesion between two types of oppositely charged vesicles, which are joined by ‘salt bridges’ acting as a kind of natural glue. 

The innovation has multiple applications and is likely to revolutionise various fields from 3D bioprinting and the design of engineered tissues to the development of soft robotics for the creation of flexible and adaptable devices inspired by living organisms. 

In the clinical field, for example, it will be possible to graft such synthetic fibres tissues in vivo to support sick living tissues. Notably, some of the prototypes developed are able to detect the presence of glucose and produce a fluorescent ‘signalling’ molecule. In future, these fibres could be engineered to produce insulin in response to increased glucose, meaning it could be applied in interesting ways in the treatment of diabetes. 

The fibres could also be engineered to respond not only to chemical but also physical stimuli, such as temperature or light, and, by combining them in bundles, obtain new ‘smart’ biomimetic materials for muscle tissue repair.

The study was funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the European Research Council (Starting Grant PROTOMAT) and the Next Generation EU programme (NRPP PRIN project 3D-L-INKED).
 

In the Picture: Prof. Pierangelo Gobbo, UniTS