Mechanically active gel-elastomer-nitinol tissue adhesive (MAGENTA) device prototypes made with a nitinol spring and elastomer insulation, with a penny for scale [Photo courtesy of the Wyss Institute at Harvard University]
Harvard bioengineers have created a mechanically active adhesive that can prevent muscle wasting and support atrophy recovery.They call it MAGENTA, an acronym for mechanically active gel–elastomer–nitinol tissue adhesive. Researchers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences successfully tested MAGENTA in an animal model and published their study in Nature Materials.
“With MAGENTA, we developed a new integrated multi-component system for the mechanostimulation of muscle that can be directly placed on muscle tissue to trigger key molecular pathways for growth,” senior au…