Apr 23, 2024
2:00pm - 2:30pm
Room 433, Level 4, Summit
Xuanhe Zhao1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology1
Implanted biomaterials and devices face compromised functionality and efficacy in the long term due to foreign body reactions and subsequent formation of fibrous capsules at the implant-tissue interfaces. Here, we demonstrate that an adhesive implant-tissue interface can mitigate fibrous capsule formation in diverse animal models, including mice, rats, humanized mice, and porcine models, by minimizing the establishment of the inflammatory microenvironment and subsequent infiltration of inflammatory cells at the implant-tissue interface. Histological analysis shows that the adhesive implant-tissue interface does not form observable fibrous capsules on diverse organs, including the abdominal wall, colon, stomach, lung, peripheral nerves, and heart, over 12 weeks in vivo. In vitro protein adsorption, multiplex Luminex assays, quantitative PCR, immunofluorescence analysis, and RNA sequencing are additionally performed to validate the hypothesis. We further demonstrate long-term bi-directional electrical communication enabled by implantable electrodes with an adhesive interface over 12 weeks in a rat model in vivo. This finding may offer a promising strategy for long-term anti-fibrotic implant-tissue interfaces.