Volume 6 Issue 10, October 2022

An adhesive hydrogel patch made from off-the-shelf materials seals and aids the healing of gastrointestinal-tissue defects without the need for sutures, as shown with the repair of gastrointestinal leaks in live rats and pigs.

An inexpensive knotted catheter-like device made of a piezoresistive elastic silicone–liquid-metal composite performs comparably to commercial manometry devices for the sensing of gastrointestinal motility in anaesthetized pigs.

Collagen-binding peptides identified via phage display can be used to enhance the homing of mesenchymal stem cells to osteoarthritic tissue, its lubrication by hyaluronic acid and its visualization via magnetic resonance imaging.

A polymer patch that rapidly and robustly adheres to diabetic wounds and contracts in a pre-programmed manner promotes wound closure and re-epithelialization, as shown in mouse and human skin, in mini-pigs and in humanized mice.

A customizable soft robotic aortic sleeve can recapitulate the haemodynamics and biomechanics of aortic stenosis, as shown in a porcine model of the disease.

Radionuclide brachytherapy delivered via an injectable biopolymer depot conjugated with iodine-131 and combined with systemically delivered paclitaxel induced the complete regression of multiple subcutaneous and orthotopic pancreatic tumours in mice.

A hydrogel serving as a high-capacity drug depot and combining a dissipative tough matrix on one side and a tendon-adhesive surface on the other side boosts tissue healing in rat models of tendon rupture.

An antibiotic identified via molecular-docking simulations and screening, and loaded into a bone-cement matrix, performs better than currently used antibiotic-loaded bone cements in the treatment of staphylococcal bone infections in rats.