Living, dynamic coatings for medical devices, i.e. coatings with proper cell response upon implantation, are attractive for restoring body function. Conventional implant coatings are of inferior quality and therefore the majority, if not all, bio-coatings fail in suitably interacting with host tissue. This poor performance of existing biocoating technologies is mostly caused by inherently static properties of surface coating, which disturbs the inherently dynamics between cells and surroundings, disrupting healthy tissue response and eventually causing adverse reactions like infections. Living coatings are produced by an innovative one step pre-conditioning of FDA approved polymeric and metal surfaces. Living non-pathogenic bacteria are suitable for in-vivo use, which provide medical devices with dynamic and responsive characteristics.
IMPLANTaLive has analyzed different markets and routes for market introduction. Results of market analysis and financing needs have been combined with a science-based technology comparison and used for discussions with potential end-users. We have specified requirements of different potential user groups and found that living cellular devices for diagnostics were most feasible in terms of market potential, end-user adoption and technical requirements. Although we found that technically IMPLANTaLive can be applied to many types of (bio)polymers and metals, the main hurdle was identified to be technological adoption by end-users. Work on coating characteristics and protein secretion have been described and are feasible to achieve on prospected device materials. In vitro cell response has been documented and shows the concept works in relevant devices. Technical production of IMPLANTaLive coatings is best achieved by dipping methods. In vivo animal studies have shown that IMPLANTaLive non toxic.
We conclude that IMPLANTaLife is a promising strategy to create a novel, responsive biointerface. Future work is required to proceed, which is dedicated to technical validation of the selected application market.
