Percutaneous Devices Permitting Skin Cell Attachment

描述(由申请人提供)：经皮穿刺器在患者护理中起着重要作用。然而，与穿透皮肤相关的感染风险并不是微不足道的。经皮设备用于各种功能，如透析、化疗、假肢附件和经皮传感器(葡萄糖)。据估计，仅中心静脉导管每年就与8万至25万例血流感染有关，每次感染的相关死亡率为12%-25%，每一次感染的成本为28,000美元。这项研究的目标是创造一种界面，促进表皮和真皮细胞与经皮医疗设备表面的整合。我们相信，通过将细胞整合到经皮医疗设备中来愈合皮肤伤口将提供一种密封，防止细菌附着和随后的生物膜形成。这项创新可能会防止与这些设备相关的严重并发症的最常见原因。根据美国国立卫生研究院的路线图，拟议的研究将由一个跨学科的研究团队进行，成员包括皮肤生物学家、来自两个NSF工程研究中心的研究人员，一个拥有先进生物材料的专业知识，另一个拥有生物膜研究的专业知识，以及开发和营销血管内通道经皮设备的工业合作伙伴。我们将实现以下具体目标：1.开发和表征生物材料，使皮肤细胞能够附着在经皮设备穿透皮肤的地方。2.研究体外和体内皮肤对优化生物材料的反应(生物整合)的细胞和分子事件。3.评估细菌附着和生物膜形成作为皮肤/生物材料整合的功能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Percutaneous devices play an essential role in patient care. However, the risks of infections associated with penetrating the skin are not inconsequential. Percutaneous devices are used for such diverse functions as dialysis, chemotherapy, attachments for prosthetic limbs and percutaneous sensors (glucose). Central venous catheters alone are associated with an estimated 80,000 to 250,000 blood stream infections annually, with an associated mortality of 12%-25% for each infection and a cost of >$28,000 per episode. The goal of this research is to create an interface that promotes epidermal and dermal cell integration with the surface of percutaneous medical devices. We believe that healing the cutaneous wound with cellular integration into percutaneous medical devices will provide a seal preventing bacterial attachment and subsequent biofilm formation. This innovation may prevent the most common cause of serious complications associated with these devices. Consistent with The NIH Roadmap, the proposed research will be conducted by an interdisciplinary research team including, skin biologists, researchers from two NSF Engineering Research Centers, one with expertise in advanced biomaterials, the other with expertise in the study of biofilm, as well as an industrial partner that develops and markets percutaneous devices for intravascular access. We will carry out the following Specific Aims: 1. Develop and characterize biomaterials that permit attachment of skin cells where percutaneous devices penetrate the skin. 2. Study the cellular and molecular events of the in vitro and in vivo skin responses (biointegration) to optimized biomaterials. 3. Evaluate bacterial attachment and biofilm formation as a function of skin/biomaterial integration.