Nanotechnology and regenerative therapeutics in plastic surgery: The next frontier

Aaron Tan; Reema Chawla; Natasha G; Sara Mahdibeiraghdar; Rebecca Jeyaraj; Jayakumar Rajadas; Michael R Hamblin; Alexander M Seifalian

doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2015.08.028

Nanotechnology and regenerative therapeutics in plastic surgery: The next frontier

J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2016 Jan;69(1):1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2015.08.028. Epub 2015 Sep 6.

Authors

Aaron Tan¹, Reema Chawla², Natasha G³, Sara Mahdibeiraghdar⁴, Rebecca Jeyaraj³, Jayakumar Rajadas⁵, Michael R Hamblin⁶, Alexander M Seifalian⁷

Affiliations

¹ UCL Medical School, University College London (UCL), London, England, UK; Biomaterials & Advanced Drug Delivery Laboratory (BioADD), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. Electronic address: aaron.tan@ucl.ac.uk.
² Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, England, UK.
³ UCL Medical School, University College London (UCL), London, England, UK.
⁴ UCL Institute of Child Health, University College London (UCL), Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, England, UK; School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
⁵ Biomaterials & Advanced Drug Delivery Laboratory (BioADD), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁶ Wellman Centre for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁷ Centre for Nanotechnology & Regenerative Medicine, UCL Division of Surgery & Interventional Science, University College London (UCL), London, England, UK; NanoRegMed Ltd, London, England, UK.

Abstract

The rapid ascent of nanotechnology and regenerative therapeutics as applied to medicine and surgery has seen an exponential rise in the scale of research generated in this field. This is evidenced not only by the sheer volume of papers dedicated to nanotechnology but also in a large number of new journals dedicated to nanotechnology and regenerative therapeutics specifically to medicine and surgery. Aspects of nanotechnology that have already brought benefits to these areas include advanced drug delivery platforms, molecular imaging and materials engineering for surgical implants. Particular areas of interest include nerve regeneration, burns and wound care, artificial skin with nanoelectronic sensors and head and neck surgery. This study presents a review of nanotechnology and regenerative therapeutics, with focus on its applications and implications in plastic surgery.

Keywords: Cyborg tissue; Nanoelectronics; Nanoengineering; Nanotechnology; Plastic surgery; Theranostics.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Burns / therapy*
Humans
Plastic Surgery Procedures / methods*
Surgery, Plastic / methods*
Theranostic Nanomedicine / methods*
Tissue Engineering / methods*

Grants and funding

R01 AI050875/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States