Biotextiles are structures composed of textile

Textile

A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...

 fibers designed for use in specific biological environments where their performance depends on biocompatibility

Biocompatibility

Biocompatibility is related to the behavior of biomaterials in various contexts. The term may refer to specific properties of a material without specifying where or how the material is used , or to more empirical clinical success of a whole device in...

 and biostability with cell

Cell (biology)

The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....

s and biological fluids. Biotextiles include implantible devices such as surgical sutures, hernia

Hernia

A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....

 repair fabrics, arterial

Artery

Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. This blood is normally oxygenated, exceptions made for the pulmonary and umbilical arteries....

 grafts

Medical grafting

Grafting refers to a surgical procedure to move tissue from one site to another on the body, or from another person, without bringing its own blood supply with it. Instead, a new blood supply grows in after it is placed. A similar technique where tissue is transferred with the blood supply intact...

, artificial skin

Artificial skin

Artificial skin can refer to skin grown in a laboratory that can be used as skin replacement for people who have suffered skin trauma such as severe burns or skin diseases.Alternatively, it can also refer to skin synthetically produced for other purposes....

 and parts of artificial heart

Artificial heart

An artificial heart is a mechanical device that replaces the heart. Artificial hearts are typically used in order to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in case transplantation is impossible...

s. They were first created 30 years ago by Dr. Martin W. King, a professor in North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

’s College of Textileshttp://www.tx.ncsu.edu/faculty_center/directory/detail.cfm?id=63.

Medical textiles are a broader group which also includes bandages, wound dressings, hospital linen, preventive clothing etc. Antiseptic

Antiseptic

Antiseptics are antimicrobial substances that are applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction...

 biotextiles are textiles used in fighting against cutaneous bacteria

Bacteria

Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...

l proliferation. Zeolite

Zeolite

Zeolites are microporous, aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorbents. The term zeolite was originally coined in 1756 by Swedish mineralogist Axel Fredrik Cronstedt, who observed that upon rapidly heating the material stilbite, it produced large amounts of steam from water that...

 and triclosan

Triclosan

Triclosan is an antibacterial and antifungal agent. It is a polychloro phenoxy phenol. Despite being used in many consumer products, beyond its use in toothpaste to prevent gingivitis, there is no evidence according to the American Food and Drug Administration that triclosan provides an extra...

 are at the present time the most used molecules. This original property allows to fightinhibits the development of odours or bacterial proliferation in the diabetic foot.

New developments

In the new paradigm of tissue engineering

Tissue engineering

Tissue engineering is the use of a combination of cells, engineering and materials methods, and suitable biochemical and physio-chemical factors to improve or replace biological functions...

, professionals are trying to develop new textiles so that the body can form new tissue around these devices so it’s not relying solely on synthetic foreign implanted material. Graduate student Jessica Gluck has demonstrated that viable and functioning liver cells can be grown on textile scaffolds http://www.physorg.com/news96302396.html.

External links

• website NC State’s College of Textiles on biotextiles