Regenerating Lost Limbs?

February 1, 2010

Zilberman's most notable invention involves soluble fibers that can be used to form a biologically active and flexible “scaffolding” to encourage tissue and bone regeneration in humans. The flexible scaffolding, shaped so that regenerating bone will take the proper form, can release drugs in a controlled fashion and then completely dissolve into non-toxic material. “For example, if a segment of a bone is missing, then we could use such a scaffold to promote cell growth and regeneration of damaged tissue,” Zilberman told The Media Line.

The challenge she faced was to develop a fiber that allowed for the release of drugs that break down easily. “The technology to build a three-dimensional, biodegradable scaffold to replace damaged tissue or bone already exists,” she explained. “We did not invent this part…But the problem is that it's not very easy to incorporate sensitive molecules, such as proteins, into a scaffold without destroying their activity…That's the major accomplishment here.” 

She also developed a mechanism to control their release. “In many applications, we would like to have a burst release, a relatively high quantity of a drug released during the first week and then decrease the rate over time.” 

“We haven't yet tested it with large bones, but there is potential.” In the meantime, Zilberman says her invention is most likely to be used for smaller scale applications. “When we need to put [in] dental implants, for example, sometimes the bone mass of the patient is insufficient and we first need to enable the growth of further bone mass before inserting the dental implants. This would be perfect for that.”  For more information: +972-3-640-5842, meitalz@eng.tau.ac.il

Excerpts from an article by Benjamin Joffe-Walt, The Media Line

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