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Not a biologist, but could you engineer this stuff to coat objects that you can use INSIDE the human body, and because its not biodegradable within our body, it
by senectus1 5y ago
Not a biologist, but could you engineer this stuff to coat objects that you can use INSIDE the human body, and because its not biodegradable within our body, it wont break down or be attacked by our immune system?
- htjfkgkridk 5y agoThe body can attack foreign stuff, like metals, even if they are not biodegradable. Which is why for example only a few materials are biocompatible.
- ncmncm 5y ago"Biocompatibility", as a material property, is largely a mirage. Certain materials, in certain specific forms, don't provoke a reaction, but the identical material in a different shape is as bad as anything else. Canonical example is PTFE, which I have heard described as "biologically inert". A perfectly smooth surface of PTFE might be ignored by the immune system, but a fiber of it poking this or that membrane usually will not be; and once scratched, it has numerous sharp bits.
- lmilcin 5y agoMirror proteins doesn't mean they cannot be metabolized or get into reactions. It just means they will not work correctly within a normal organism.
- dnautics 5y agoWrong. You do directed evolution targetting mirror substrates on the normal protein (since we have the facilities to replicate and evolve normal proteins) then synthesize the mirror equivalent, which will then act on the mirror of the mirror substrates, aka the real substrate.
- dnautics 5y agoIt won't break down so easily (natural proteases/Xnases probably won't work), but it might still cause an immune reaction. Actually it might cause a worse immune reaction, since it never goes away.