Robert Langer tells us that we need better biomaterials for surgery. His SolveForX talk, Biomaterials for the 21st Century, gives the origin of some surgical materials and explores their limits.
Using the artificial heart as an example Langer explains how the polyether urethane from a ladies girdle was used in 1967 and is still used today. When scientists from the National Institute of Health needed a material with a good flex life someone suggested a girdle and the material's remained in the artificial heart for forty five years.
https://www.solveforx.com/moonshots/biomaterials-for-the-21st-century
As an engineer Robert looked at the requirements for several applications to design a material to meet the needs. Polyanhydrides were developed to meet the erosion requirements of drug delivering applications.
Henry Brem, a Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, asked Langer to explore a brain cancer application. The idea was to implant a wafer of medicine into the brain during surgery and seal the wafer in before closing the patient's brain. This way the drug can last as long as the polymer is designed to last and stays with the brain instead of spreading harmful effects throughout the body.
https://www.solveforx.com/moonshots/biomaterials-for-the-21st-century
Inspired by laparoscopic surgery, Langer wondered if the incisions could be used to insert material as easily as they allowed removing material. Objects could exist as a string outside the body and with light or body heat be transformed once inside the body. This idea led to self-tying knots and then sophisticated drug delivery chips. 2012 saw the first clinical results of wirelessly controlled drug delivery chips. Human parathyroid hormone fragments were delivered from the chips into the body.
When Robert begins to talk about future possibilities his concepts begin with a biodegradable polymer scaffolding and end with new bones, cartilage, or a liver. Human skin is the easiest tissue to synthesize and Langer has already developed neo-natal polymer fiberglass and shows an example of healing a badly burned child. The last example in the talk is of a rat injected with polymer strings and given mobility gains.
Robert Langer is incredibly engaging as a speaker. The material is complicated and dense but he uses relatable terms, telling us how a sophisticated long form drug delivery system works like our garage doors. He constantly calls out the researchers, post doctoral students, and associates who have worked with him on the projects, as if he has no need to take credit for this amazing body of work. There's no vanity in this talk, even while listing off his many accomplishments.
https://www.solveforx.com/moonshots/biomaterials-for-the-21st-century