Synthesis and characterization of nanostructured biomaterials

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Nanostructured silver has an unusually high level of anti-microbial activity (Wright et al. AJIC 1999;27,Wright et al. Wounds 1998;10(6) and Wright et al. AJIC 1998) in conjunction with the unexpected benefit of being anti-inflammatory in wounds (Wright et al. Wound REP REG 2002;10). Anecdotal clinical evidence also suggests that this type of silver is highly effective in the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as eczema and psoriasis-disease in which there is an intact epidermis (pers comm. G. Sibbald, 2002). There is, to date, no understanding of the mechanism of action for the biological activity of the nanocrystalline silver, although comparative data suggests it is not related to the presence of silver (1+) ions (Wright et al. Wound REP REG 2002;10). The objectives of this research are to synthesize and characterize, both from a materials and biological perspective, new types of nanostructured noble metal-based materials for the treatment of human and animal inflammatory conditions. Nanostructured materials will be synthesized using a variety of atomic processes including physical vapour deposition (PVD), electrodeposition and electroless deposition with an initial focus on low-energy PVD techniques. The materials will be synthesized on a variety of inorganic and organic substrates for subsequent characterization and testing. This will involve high-resolution microscopy (SEM and AFM), surface analytical (XRD, XRF, XPS and SIMS), electrochemical (cyclic voltametry, coulometric analysis and scanning electrochemical microscopy) and gravimetric (quartz microbalance analysis) techniques. The biological testing of the materials will include analyses of antimicrobial (in vitro log reduction), anti-inflammatory (in vivo nuclear probes, immunoassays and histochemical techniques), antipruritic (in vivo immunoassays and histochemical analyses) and immunomodulating (molecular techniques and immunoassays) effects. In vivo assessments of the materials will utilize models of contaminated wound healing, contact dermatitis and acute and chronic pulmonary inflammation. The use of nanostructured materials for the treatment and control of infections is a new field of medical research. The first clinical use of such materials (nanocrystalline silver) was in 1996. Currently, there are no other research programs in the world studying the medical impact of nanocrystalline noble metals other than silver. This work will extend the boundaries of knowledge regarding silver and noble metals, such as gold and platinum. It is expected that this work will form the basis for treatments of a wide range of inflammatory disease conditions. This technology development will keep Canada at the forefront of nanostructured biomedical materials research and provide a steady stream of highly-qualified research personnel through graduate and post-graduate training for Canadian industry.