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Summarize this content to 100 words Russian scientists are developing a new way of treating liver cirrhosis. It involves the installation of a cell frame made of a special porous material – airgel – instead of a distant diseased part of the organ. It causes cell regeneration and will help the body restore damaged tissue. Specialists have already developed a special bioprinter for this task and tested the substance on rats, which showed its complete safety for living organisms. However, long-term preclinical and clinical studies must be conducted before the technology can be put into practice. The project was supported by the Russian Science Foundation.Specialists of RGTU named after D.I. Mendeleev are developing a new way of restoring liver tissue damaged by cirrhosis. The method involves the removal of a diseased part of the body during surgery and the installation of a special cell frame in its place, which stimulates the regeneration of the body’s tissue. The basis of the matrix, which is covered with cells, will be a special porous material – airgel. It is obtained from biopolymers. Each implant will be printed on a 3D printer individually for a specific patient. Then it is saturated with antibiotics that suppress inflammatory processes and the patient’s stem cells, which will speed up the healing process. The project was supported by the Russian Science Foundation.”We are working on the technology of creating tissue-engineered constructions from biocompatible material in the form of a specific area of ​​the liver with an individual geometry. We are currently experimenting with materials that can be used for this. These are, for example, various biopolymers that prevent the germination of the patient’s own tissue. It is even possible to use the intercellular matrices of the sickest patients,” said the associate professor of the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering of the Russian Technical University named after D.I. Mendeleev Pavlo Tsygankov.Airgel particles. Source: RKTU named after Mendeleev Reference “Izvesty”: Cirrhosis of the liver is the final stage of many diseases of the organ, in which healthy cells are replaced by connective tissue. As a result, the liver cannot perform its functions. In Russia, about 200,000 new cases of the disease are registered annually.Scientists have already tested the properties of their airgel on animals. For this, the material was injected under the skin of laboratory rats. Experiments have shown that it is not toxic, does not cause rejection and is completely safe for living organisms. It will take several years to apply the method in medical practice. For this, the developers have to go through a full cycle of preclinical and clinical research. At the first stage, specialists will test the properties of implants up to 2 cubic meters in size. see”The material that we will use for printing implants must have a certain viscosity and fluidity. For this, we choose different compositions of the original solution. We achieve, for example, manifestations of thixotropic properties, as in ketchup. When squeezed, it flows, and when on a plate, it holds its shape. So are materials for 3D printing. Thixotropic properties ensure unhindered pressing. After the structure is printed, the viscosity is restored – and the 3D object will retain its given shape,” said Pavlo Tsygankov.At RGTU named after D.I. Mendeleev have already developed their original printer, which can be used to print structures for the liver. They also proposed airgel sterilization technology. Due to the peculiarities of the material, the task was a serious problem until recently.Chemical, radiation, or high temperatures are usually used to decontaminate a medical device. However, biopolymers are too sensitive to such processing. Instead, scientists suggest using supercritical carbon dioxide (an average state of matter between gas and liquid). In this state, the substance has a high solubility and penetrates well into the porous structure of the airgel. To enhance the effect, small amounts of peracetic acid are added to the mixture, which allows for a high level of sterility.Airgel particles. Source: RKTU named after Mendeleev Aerogels are unique materials that are sometimes called solid gas, the head of the RSTU named after Izvestia told Izvestia. D.I. Mendeleev Oleksandr Mazhuga. Its uniqueness lies in its very low density and thermal conductivity, since it is a highly porous material filled with gas. One of the applications of aerogels is the creation of hemostatic materials in the form of special applicators, bandages, bandages. As a basis for the creation of airgel, the biopolymer chitosan is used, the specialist clarified.Resection is often used to treat cirrhosis of the liver. And the development of methods for fragmented liver restoration is extremely urgent. Airgel as a unique material with high porosity is an ideal framework that reproduces the necessary organ fragment. The porosity of the material makes this technology universal, which makes it possible to “populate” it with the necessary type of cells,” said Oleksandr Mazhuga.Although clinical application is still a long way off, the basis of this technology already demonstrates its promise, the expert added.”Despite the achievements of modern medicine, some liver diseases remain incurable, and the only salvation is a liver transplant. The development and creation of artificial parts of organs, in particular the liver, is a promising direction in biomedical medicine, as it will allow to minimize the risks associated with organ transplantation, reduce the waiting time for surgery and speed up the patient’s recovery,” says Anna Zimina, an engineer at the Center for Biomedical Engineering of MISIS University .Medical practitioners draw attention to the fact that the final evaluation of the method can be given only after the completion of clinical trials.”After human studies have been conducted and there are positive results, then we can really say that this method is promising. However, when conducting research on humans, pitfalls may arise,” said Petro Tkachenko, a general practitioner, gastroenterologist-hepatologist.According to the developers, in the future, airgel can be used to restore not only the liver, but also other organs.

Russian scientists are developing a new method of treating cirrhosis of the liver