POLYMER PATCH ENABLES REPAIR HEART DAMAGE WITHOUT STITCHES

Implanting a flexible polymer patch into rats showed improved conduction of electrical impulses across the heart scar tissue. The patch -- new technology enables to repair the tissues without the need for stitches, says scientists. The new technology shown to work in animal models reported the long lasting and significant advantage that it can be stuck onto the heart. "Heart attacks create a scar which slows and disrupts the conduction of electrical impulses across the heart. This leads to potentially fatal disturbances of the heart rhythm. Our electrically conducting polymer patch is designed to address this serious problem,” said Professor Sian Harding from Imperial College London.

Patch consists of 3 components:

The patch is made from three components: a film of chitosan, a polysaccharide found in crab shells that is often used as a food additive; polyaniline, a conducting polymer that is grown on top; and phytic acid, a substance found in plants which is added to the polyaniline to switch it to its conducting state. "Conducting polymers work when they are dry, but most become non-conducting in a very short time when placed in bodily fluids," said Dr Damia Mawad from University of New South Wales (UNSW in Australia.) The suture-less patch shown as stable and retains it conductivity in physiological conditions for more than 2 weeks, compared with the usual one day of other designs. Since stiches are required to attach, it is minimally invasive and less damaging to the heart. The patch is made to adhere to the heart tissue by shining a green laser on it. “We envisage heart attack patients eventually having patches attached as a bridge between the healthy and the scar tissue, to help prevent cardiac arrhythmia. However, our patch is at the very early stages of this research. This technology can now be used for basic research to gain insights into the interface between the material and tissue," said Mawad.