59 Discussion
Polymer Critical Analysis in Context of Biomaterials
The gel based polymers in this research are typically used in wound healing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. In this study the alginate gel is used as a scaffold as it has a rapid gelation rate from where calcium salt was applied resulting in the desired bone growth. This specifically aligns with the tissue engineering application as it is directly used as a scaffold to grow bone and allow for blood vessels to grow through.
Our Insights
We believe that the work done here has valuable potential if optimized for clinical trials. The current studies also have some issues such as the procedure must be planned which could rule out some emergency based regeneration. The research done here could also be applied to other tissue regeneration such as cartilage and even some organs which would make it a valuable procedure.
Future Perspectives
As far as research goes there is always more to research as far as material properties and how a material will interact with the body. However one possible future consideration could be for applications elsewhere. Molly Stevens mentioned organ regeneration applications which could be the next step to her research as she could produce different tissues in a similar fashion. Another future concern could be the use in emergency situations as the procedure is currently a planned procedure. However in the future if the procedure was implemented in a clinical situation, there could be ways to make it available for emergency procedures.
Ethical Considerations
When working with the body there are always ethical concerns, however the possible benefits outweigh the risks involved for this procedure. Economical concerns could be an issue as the payment for a treatment of this caliber could be high. Moving forward in the research, ethical considerations should be made such as making sure the cost of the procedure makes it available for those who need it to avoid the long term pain in the body of the alternative.
Clinical Impact
The clinical applications here could be broad. As the study focuses on bone growth and its applications for grafting, the same synthesis techniques used could also be used for other organs in the body like the liver. This could give another alternative for procedures for patients with injuries or diseases.
Long term challenges include human testing and teachings for practical applications for use in clinical trials. The main long term benefit is that new cells can be grown and used for grafts or transplants without the traditional pain from a typical bone graft/transplant.
Scientific Impact
As previously mentioned, the technology discussed here could be used in many different tissue engineering applications such as cartilage, bone, and even possible organ regeneration. This research will only increase the amount of tests and studies done on the different applications of these kinds of polymer gels for use in biomaterials. The research here holds valuable possibilities for the use in the vascular system as heart disease is one of the biggest health challenges and tissue regeneration and transplantation could be one possible way to treat these kinds of vascular diseases.
