SCAFFOLD
Researchers want to develop biocompatible polymers that would serve as scaffolding that helps regrow tissue, replacing damaged or missing flesh and organs in patients. A Swedish team developed the high-molecular-weight polymer shown above, which fluoresces strongly under near-infrared light, a part of the spectrum where most flesh is transparent. In lab rats, the researchers monitored the scaffolding mats with near-IR light and observed that it was colonized by rat tissue and blood vessels.
Credit:Adv. Funct. Mater. 2015, DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201500351
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