New magnetic nanoparticles can safely rewarm tissues for transplants

tomwt — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 16:33:43 +0000

New magnetic nanoparticles can safely rewarm tissues for transplants tomwt Fri, 09/06/2024 - 09:33 More CNAS in the Media Mrigakshi Dixit | Interesting Engineering September 04, 2024

INTERESTING ENGINEERING - In organ transplantation, time is of the utmost importance as organs’ quality degrades rapidly during transportation.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have developed a new technique that could extend the lifespan of human tissues for transplantation.

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In this new development, the researchers have developed a method to rapidly and evenly thaw frozen tissues. This technique may reduce the risk of damage caused by ice crystal formation.

Nanowarming uses magnetic nanoparticles and magnetic fields to thaw frozen tissues.

“Magnetic nanoparticles with extremely small size and high dispersity are co-loaded into tissue with cryoprotective agents (CPAs). In contrast to traditional convective heating from external regions of tissue, nanowarming is achieved through the nanoparticle’s heat generation from the internal space of tissue, realizing much more uniform and faster heating,” Yadong Yin, who led this study, told Interesting Engineering (IE).

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‘Nanowarming’ process a game-changer for organ transplantation

tomwt — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 16:16:48 +0000

‘Nanowarming’ process a game-changer for organ transplantation tomwt Fri, 09/06/2024 - 09:16 More CNAS in the Media Paul McClure | New Atlas September 04, 2024

NEW ATLAS - A new two-step process that safely rewarms frozen tissues using nanoscale magnetic rods could help preserve donor organs long-term. The procedure provides an alternative to current time-limited methods and paves the way for more life-saving transplantations.

The gold-standard method for preserving organs prior to transplantation is static cold storage, which involves flushing the organ with preservation solution at zero to 4 °C (32–39 °F) before immersing it in preservation solution at the same temperature. However, this method provides only a short window for transplantation, depending on organ type.

Vitrification offers a means of long-term, damage-free preservation of organs. Unlike conventional freezing, which causes liquids to transition into a crystalline state, vitrification uses a cryoprotective agent to keep the fluids in a glass-like, amorphous state as the temperature drops and molecules slow down. The problem is that uniform and rapid heating is needed to prevent the formation of ice crystals. Now, researchers from the Universities of Minnesota and California, Riverside, have devised a two-step method of safely and quickly thawing and rewarming organs using nanoscale magnetic rods.

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