ANATOMICAL SUBSTITUTES WITH PROCLIVITY FOR CELL LINING

THE IMPLANTS FIELD OR "SPARE-PARTS MEDICINE" IS A YOUNG (CA. 25 YEARS) HEALTH CARE ACTIVITY REQUIRING INTENSIVE INPUT FROM ENGINEERS AND MATERIALS SCIENTISTS, AS WELL AS MEDICAL DOCTORS. THE ALL-PURPOSE SYNTHETIC WHICH CAN BE USED FOR ALL MEDICAL PURPOSES HAS NOT BEEN FOUND. BIOMATERIALS ARE NEEDED FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF FUNCTIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS WITHIN THE BODY, REQUIRING A WIDE VARIETY OF PHYSICAL PROPERTIES FOR THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND STABLE FUNCTIONING. A MAJOR DIFFICULTY IS FOUND IN ACQUIRING A BIOCOMPATIBLE SURFACE IN COMBINATION WITH THE REQUIRED PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (E.G., STRENGTH, ELASTICITY, PERMEABILITY AND FLEXIBILITY) STABLE OVER A LONG PERIOD OF USE IN THE BODY. A MAJOR ADVANCE IN BIOMATERIALS TECHNOLOGY WOULD RESULT FROM THE ABILITY TO READILY TAILOR THE SURFACE OF PREFORMED PHYSICALLY OPTIMISED IMPLANT DEVICES, TO PROVIDE THE PROCLIVITY FOR RAPID OVERGROWTH OF A STABLE NATURAL CELL SURFACE LINING. CELL ATTACHMENT FACTOR PROTEINS INVOLVED IN THE CONTROL OF ENDOTHELIAL CELL MIGRATION, ATTACHMENT TO SUBSTRATUM AND GROWTH, HAVE BEEN PURIFIED AND CHEMICALLY AND BIOLOGICALLY CHARACTERIZED. PHOTOCHEMICAL CROSSLINKING REAGENTS AND REACTION TECHNOLOGY FOR EFFECTIVE COUPLING OF ACTIVE PROTEINS TO THE SURFACE OF A WIDE VARIETY OF BIOMATERIALS, HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AND DEMONSTRATED IN THIS LABORATORY. A PLAN IS PROPOSED FOR COMBINING THE EXPERTISE AND MATERIALS FROM A LEADING CELL ATTACHMENT FACTOR LABORATORY WITH THOSE OF A SURFACE CHEMISTRY-BIOCOMPATIBILITY LABORATORY, TO PROVIDE A FACILE SURFACE MODIFICATION OF SUBSTITUTE BLOOD VESSEL MATERIALS FOR THE PROMOTION OF RAPID ENDOTHELIAL CELL SURFACE OVERGROWTH. THE CURRENT WORLD MARKET FOR IMPLANTABLE DEVICES AND ARTIFICIAL ORGANS IS ESTIMATED TO FALL BETWEEN $3 AND $4 BILLION. THE DEMAND GROWS IN DIRECT PROPORTION TO ADVANCES IN MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY. THIS PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY IS EXPECTED TO PROVIDE BIOCOMPATIBILITY FOR ADDITIONAL INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS ALREADY AVAILABLE.