A Philosophical Exploration of The Bio-metallic Phenomenon
Mugdha Medhi
23BML0046
In today’s fast paced world, where everyone seems to be engaged in incessant and monotonous activity in order to achieve a reasonable amount of stability in life, the quest for finding meaning and purpose in one’s humdrum existence can be seen everywhere. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, everyone’s contribution to bring the ‘whole’ into being, matters. However, one doesn’t always see their work translating into something that has good, real life implications for the world at large – somewhere down the line, the end result almost always becomes very distant and disconnected from one’s individual work because of the vastness of large-scale operations today. So, one looks at other sources for a sense of appreciation and acknowledgement of the work they’re doing. And what better source for that than one of the stars of this month’s blog – ‘biometals’.
If we go by textbook definitions, ‘biometals’ refer to those non-toxic and corrosion-resistant metallic substances which, on account of their unique property of ‘biocompatibility’ (the quality of an implanted material to function efficiently in a living system without causing any tangible harm to the system itself), can be used for a wide-ranging variety of biological and engineering-based solutions for innumerable practical concerns. However, in reality, biometals are nothing short of tiny miracle workers. I use the word ‘tiny’ here because in most of their applications, biometals aren’t required in vast quantities. Much like most of us in this world, they too are small cogs in big machines. However, without these biometals, no matter in how small a quantity they’re utilized in, the entire system or process ends up having a lot of inadequacies and ineptitude to account for.
The most interesting and promising applications of biometals can be found in the fields of neurostimulation devices, prosthetics, and drug delivery systems. Platinum is now being increasingly used in neurostimulation especially in the treatment of tremors associated with Parkinson’s disease using deep brain stimulation technology wherein electrodes are implanted deep within the brain and with the help of targeted electrical stimuli to specific areas, tremor causing irregular signals are interrupted. Platinum, with its high biocompatibility, ensures more efficient and precise stimulation than other commonly used materials such as stainless steel. Prosthetic artificial limbs, nowadays, are being devised with biometals such as titanium, keeping in mind the durability and lightness requirements of the limb to be designed. Moreover, titanium’s biocompatibility is further bolstered by its unique property of ‘osseointegration’ – the ability to bond with the bone tissue directly, thereby catalysing a stronger and more natural attachment with one’s skeletal system which is one of the most desirable qualities in any prosthetic system and is something traditional prosthetic materials such as plastic cannot provide. As far as drug delivery systems are concerned, gold and magnesium alloys are the biometals which are seeing more utilization. Not only do they have very high specificity, i.e., drug coated gold nanoparticles can be delivered to only those cells and tissues where the drugs are required, thus minimizing side effects or harm caused to surrounding tissues, but they also have the property of ‘controlled release’ – magnesium alloys loaded with drugs degrade in the body over time and in doing so, release the drug in question in controlled rates which match the patient’s demands. Materials such as gels, lipids, and polymers which have been used in drug delivery systems ever since their inception, lack these unique properties.
From all that I have enumerated above, one thing is very clear. The utilization of biometals, albeit in minuscule proportions, optimizes already existing technologies and processes in a way one could only dream of a few decades back. Biometals don’t change how a system fundamentally functions – they’re merely small additions made to it. But does small equal insignificant? As can be ascertained from above, absolutely not. So now I leave it to you, the reader, to take from the curious case of biometals what you will. And if it does allow you to see the work you put out on a daily basis as something more purposeful than you previously thought, I will consider my intent fulfilled.
References
1. Bhangra, K. S., et al. “The use of platinum in deep brain stimulation devices for Parkinson’s disease.” Journal of Neural Engineering, vol. 15, no. 6, 2018, pp. 1–10. DOI: 10.1088/1741–2552/aaed4e.
2. Branemark, P. I., et al. “Osseointegration in skeletal reconstruction and rehabilitation: A review.” Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, vol. 38, no. 2, 2001, pp. 175–181. Available: https://www.rehab.research.va.gov/jour/01/38/2/branemark.html
3. Dreaden, E. C., et al. “The golden age: gold nanoparticles for biomedicine.” Chemical Society Reviews, vol. 41, 2012, pp. 2740–2779. DOI: 10.1039/C1CS15237H.
4. Ratner, B. D., et al. “Biomaterials Science: An Introduction to Materials in Medicine.” 3rd ed., Academic Press, 2012. ISBN: 978–0123746269.
5. Hench, L. L., & Jones, J. R. “Biomaterials, artificial organs and tissue engineering.” Woodhead Publishing, 2005. ISBN: 978–1855737371.
Image credits
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0079642517301020
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