What was once science fiction is now becoming reality: entire organs healed simply by touching a tiny chip. Those responsible for the development of this innovative technology, which could soon restore any organ in the body, are a team of researchers from the Wexner Medical School at Ohio State University and the Ohio University College of Engineering in Columbus (USA). .).
The device changes the cellular function of the organism in a non-invasive way; It is based on a type of nanotechnology called tissue nano-transfer, which can reprogram living adult cells into any other type of cell.
How does it work
The technology is based on two main elements, and the first is the chip itself. Using nanotechnology, the scientists designed a device that could inject a genetic load into cells. The second element is the genetic load itself: the chip carries a specific genetic code in the form of DNA or RNA that, when applied to cells, changes their previous structure and functions and reprograms them as necessary to repair the injury.
As the study authors explain, reprogramming factors are delivered to the cell using a “highly intense and focused electric field through ordered nanochannels.” In short, the chip is placed on the skin and with a simple touch, a small, almost imperceptible electrical current forges channels in the tissue.
The DNA or RNA is sent through these nanochannels and the process of reprogramming the cells begins, giving them a new ‘identity’ . “It only takes a fraction of a second, you have to touch the chip in the injured area and then remove it, just at that moment the cellular reprogramming begins”, explains Chandan Sen, leader of the work.
Works?
The team tested the device in mice by applying the technology to the skin of injured paws, whose blood flow was blocked. The device successfully transformed the skin cells of the mice into vascular cells. “Within a week we began to notice the transformation,” says Sen.
By the second week, the skin cells had become functional blood vessels, and by the third week, the rodents’ legs were completely healed, with no further pharmacological intervention.
“What’s even more exciting is that it doesn’t just work on skin, but on any type of tissue, ” adds Sen.
In a second set of experiments, the researchers used the device to transform skin cells into neurons, helping to restore the region that had been damaged by a stroke. After the experiment, in several weeks the brains of the mice were working perfectly.
“This is difficult to imagine, but we can achieve it, since we are working with successes of around 98% of the cases. With this technology, we can turn skin cells into elements of any organ with a single touch. It takes just less of a second and it is not invasive “, Sen.
Given the simple, non-invasive, and non-pharmacological nature of the technology, the researchers hope to test the device on humans within a year.
This is how the device works:
Referencia: Topical tissue nano-transfection mediates non-viral stroma reprogramming and rescue, Nature Nanotechnology (2017). DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2017.134
Crédito imagen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
