STAR -Biomaterial Scaffold
Healionics’ proprietary STAR (Sphere Templated Angiogenic Regeneration) biomaterial scaffold is a breakthrough in biointegration and tissue regeneration. It is the result of a sustained effort to discover the “sweet spot” – the exact pore size and structure that enables angiogenesis and healing while reducing Foreign Body Response. In contrast to many porous biomaterials that are “found” materials originally designed for other uses, STAR has been specifically engineered to enhance biointegration and promote healing.
Many of the materials used in long-term, percutaneous and implanted medical devices today were initially developed for other purposes. STAR® biomaterial was specifically conceived and developed to heal in the body. With its proprietary pore geometry, STAR offers several distinct advantages in biocompatibility:
- Improved Biointegration
- Reduced Foreign Body Response (FBR)
- Increased Angiogenesis
- Tissue Regeneration with Reduced Scarring
STAR® technology’s exceptional versatility enables it to be developed and fine-tuned to fit specific product or application requirements. STAR solutions offer three key types of adaptability:
- Substrate independence
- Tunable pore geometry
- Custom shapes and sizes
It is often helpful to distinguish STAR from other biomaterials by describing what it is not.
- STAR is neither a coating nor a nano-technology; it is a 3D scaffold that is fabricated with a thickness of 150 microns or more to support angiogenesis.
- STAR is not made from bovine, porcine, or human tissue or organs like many biomaterial scaffold solutions. STAR is made from well-established synthetic biomaterial substrates – such as silicone rubber and hyaluronic acid – that are used in today’s implanted devices.
- STAR does not contain or require any Growth Factors or other biologics. The key to STAR’s healing performance is its precise pore structure. Through our proprietary sphere templating process, each pore and interconnecting throat is of a uniform dimension throughout the scaffold.
One of the advantages of STAR® biomaterial is its versatility. The combination of STAR’s base material, shape and pore geometry allows us to custom fabricate 3D scaffolds to suit a wide array of specific medical devices and applications.
Biomaterial Independence
STAR technology’s unique biointegration properties are derived from its proprietary sphere templated pore geometry, not the base material (substrate) itself. STAR scaffolds have been produced from a variety of medical grade substrates that range from non-degradable to fully biodegradable.
Synthetic substrates include silicone, polyHEMA and hyaluronic acid.
Tunable Pore Sizes
We work with each customer to determine the pore geometry that will best satisfy specific biointegration needs. STAR scaffolds can be fabricated with a consistent, precise, “sweet spot” pore size that gives STAR material its unique attributes.
Custom Shapes and Sizes
The versatility of the STAR processing technology allows us to create various types of STAR scaffolds needed to achieve the biointegration requirements of a specific device or application.
Types of STAR scaffolds include, but are not limited to:
- Tubes
- Discs
- Sheets
- Rods
- Dual-Layer Pads
- Injectable Granules
Prototyping
Let Healionics transform your requirements into a prototype you can evaluate. Our onsite laboratory and cleanroom production facilities enable us to efficiently design and fabricate a custom sample STAR biomaterial scaffold to your specifications.
