Date: Apr 15, 2013 Source: MDA (
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Scientists have transformed a solar-radiation-reducing material developed by an MDA-funded company into the structural basis for the world's first fully synthetic human trachea. The material, a nanocomposite polymer technology called "POSS®, is the brainchild of Hybrid Plastics, Inc. (Hattiesburg, MS). Over the years, the company developed ways to form POSS into an array of coating applications to protect everything from electronics components to historical monuments to human skin. MDA funded Hybrid Plastics' successful foray into transforming POSS into a radiation-reducing material through a 2005 SBIR Phase II contract.
The ability to use this novel, strong, and durable material in so many applications brought POSS to the attention of British researchers who were looking for a material to develop a fully functional synthetic trachea that would not be rejected by the human body.
The British researchers built the POSS-based synthetic trachea, which was then transported in mid-2011 to a Swedish hospital to be lined with a terminally ill cancer patient's stem cells and then transplanted. The stem cells "infiltrated" the trachea, enabling it to become fully vascular, with no bodily rejection.
Success with helping to develop a synthetic trachea has pushed Hybrid Plastics further into biomedical engineering. The company has since helped to develop POSS-based fully vascular synthetic noses and ears, which can be attached to disfigured patients suffering from the effects of accidents or explosions. Hybrid Plastics officials are actively pursuing FDA approval for the company's biomedical technologies.
Hybrid Plastics is a nanotechnology manufacturing company that specializes in developing advanced materials for a wide range of applications, from biomedicine to electronics. The company uses its POSS material to manufacture, or to help manufacture, human transplant organs, skin-care products, and electronic protection devices.
