iCons and 21stBiotech Collaboration: The Future of Wound Healing

By Brigid Fay Driscoll and Nicolas Gnaman
Biomedicine/Biosystems
iCons Year 3
2020
iCons and 21stBiotech Collaboration: the Future of Wound Healing
Executive Summary 

In the Spring 2020 semester, an opportunity was presented that would forge a new path for the iCons program: collaboration with an outside company. 21stBiotech, a young biotechnology company founded at UMass, strives to improve the future of wound healing. Their product Renovare promises faster wound healing by incorporating cutting-edge microfluidics technology into a modern bandage design.

Our group of two iCons students comprised the research and development team for the product. Our goal was to provide 21stBiotech valuable R&D regarding optimal design, efficient testing, and potential future avenues for the smart bandage. After extensive conceptualizing and designing, we decided to pursue research that not only aimed to improve the main function of the device, microfluidic stimulation, but also incorporate a unique element in bandage design, electrical sterilization, in order to further optimize the bandage. We consulted with various scientific experts such as Dr. Hamilton, a professor of microbiology, who greatly aided with clarity in cell culturing techniques and feasibility of our design, as well as Professor Duzhko, director of electronic materials and devices, who offered guidance with necessary equipment to control applied voltages across the bandage to measure cell responses.

Unfortunately, our prepared experiments were halted early in March 2020 due to the Coronavirus outbreak. When UMass labs announced their closure for the remainder of the semester, we shifted our focus to conducting a comprehensive review on current research for smart bandage technology. We believe that our research on electrical sterilization and varying pump rates can be applied to further optimize the Renovare bandage for future use.

Problem Keywords 
Bandage
Medical
biomedicine
wound healing
microfluidics
cell regeneration
culturing

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