In the EU research project IMMODGEL scientists from the universities of Heidelberg, Nottingham, Strasbourg, Brigham and the Women's Hospital, USA as well as the SMEs Protip from France, Protobios from Estonia and Contipro from the Czech Republic involved.

In cooperation with the Estonian company Protobios, the Heidelberg University has detected specific markers, with which the reaction of titanium can be described on a personalized basis. The results were used to determine the optimal combination of biomaterial and cytokines to inhibit the inflammatory reaction. In order to increase this effect, the University of Nottingham has analyzed the topography of surfaces and selected perfect microstructures which should be integrated into the final therapeutic system. Other partners have improved the gel formulation and an adhesive layer that binds the titanium surface with the gel. The partners have found unexpected antimicrobials properties in this layer, resulting in the first patent in the field of polypeptide and hyaluronic acid coatings.

The US research group of Prof. Khademhosseini has developed a "Foreign Body Response on-a-Chip" system that analyse the immune response to titanium under in vivo-like conditions. The test system can be used for any other implant, medical device or transplant.

Source:
https://idw-online.de/de/news677070

Further information:
http://www.immodgel.org