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Sweet! Cotton candy may help labs grow tissue

2009-02-12 08:20:07

By MALCOLM RITTER, AP Science Writer Malcolm Ritter, Ap Science Writer Wed

Feb 11

NEW YORK Cotton candy has delighted children for a century. Now it may have

found a new role: helping scientists grow replacement tissues for people. The

flossy stuff may be just right for creating networks of blood vessels within

laboratory-grown bone, skin, muscle or fat for breast reconstruction,

researchers suggest.

Dr. Jason Spector of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

in New York and Leon Bellan of Cornell University present their preliminary

research in a paper published online this week by the journal Soft Matter.

Here's how their technique would work:

First, you pour a thick liquid chemical over a wad of cotton candy. Let the

liquid solidify into a chunk, and put that in warm water to dissolve the candy.

That leaves tiny channels where the strands of candy used to be. So you have a

chunk of material with a network of fine channels within.

Next, line these channels with cells to create artificial blood vessels. And

seed the solid chunk with immature cells of whatever tissue you're trying to

make. The block is biodegradable, and as it disappears, it will gradually be

replaced by growing tissue. In the end, you get a piece of tissue permeated

with tiny blood vessels.

So far, the researchers have made these blocks of material and run rat blood

through the channels within. While they may eventually switch to something

other than cotton candy as the research proceeds, Bellan said he hopes to stick

with the inexpensive stuff as long as possible.

Spector, who keeps a jar of jelly beans on his desk, said he enjoys cotton

candy and that with this project, "it's taken on a whole new meaning."

But don't offer any of the stuff to his research partner.

"I actually hate cotton candy," Bellan said. "It's disgusting. I won't eat it."