Scientists at the University of Toronto are taking regenerative medicine to a new dimension with a process for guiding nerve cells that could someday help reconnect severed nerve endings.
Molly Shoichet, a professor of chemical engineering and applied chemistry at the Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME), has devised a new method that helps guide cell migration and adhesion. "We're very interested in using this system for biomedical applications and regenerative medicine, specifically for guiding nerve cells," says Shoichet, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Tissue Engineering.
In the study, Shoichet and doctoral student Ying Luo combined a gel-like substance called agarose with compounds having "photolabile" properties that change chemically when exposed to light. When they directed laser light at the gel, its chemical composition changed, creating a "channel" through the gel. Although not a physical channel, the interaction created a "growth-friendly" chemical pathway through the agarose.