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Implantable silk metamaterials may advance biomedicine, biosensing
01 Sep '10
4 min read
In Situ Bio-Sensing
To demonstrate the concept, the researchers conducted a series of in vitro experiments that examined the electromagnetic response of the silk metamaterials when implanted under thin slices of muscle tissue. They found that the metamaterials retained their novel resonance properties while implanted. The same process could be readily adapted to fabricate silk metamaterials at other frequencies, according to Tao.
"Our approach offers great promise for applications such as in situ bio-sensing with implanted medical devices and the transmission of medical information from within the human body," says Omenetto. "Imagine the benefits of monitoring the rate of drug delivery from a drug-eluting cardiac stent, making a perfect absorber that can be implanted to attack diseased tissue by heat, or, someday in the future, wrapping an 'invisibility cloak' around an organ to examine the tissue behind it."
The research was funded in part by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Department of Defense/U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It is based upon work supported in part by the Army Research Laboratory, the U.S. Army Research Office and DARPA-DSO.
Tufts University, located on three Massachusetts campuses in Boston, Medford/Somerville, and Grafton, and in Talloires, France, is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States.
To demonstrate the concept, the researchers conducted a series of in vitro experiments that examined the electromagnetic response of the silk metamaterials when implanted under thin slices of muscle tissue. They found that the metamaterials retained their novel resonance properties while implanted. The same process could be readily adapted to fabricate silk metamaterials at other frequencies, according to Tao.
"Our approach offers great promise for applications such as in situ bio-sensing with implanted medical devices and the transmission of medical information from within the human body," says Omenetto. "Imagine the benefits of monitoring the rate of drug delivery from a drug-eluting cardiac stent, making a perfect absorber that can be implanted to attack diseased tissue by heat, or, someday in the future, wrapping an 'invisibility cloak' around an organ to examine the tissue behind it."
The research was funded in part by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Department of Defense/U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It is based upon work supported in part by the Army Research Laboratory, the U.S. Army Research Office and DARPA-DSO.
Tufts University, located on three Massachusetts campuses in Boston, Medford/Somerville, and Grafton, and in Talloires, France, is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States.
Tufts University
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