Some of you may already be familiar with Graphene as it is a hot area of research in both academics & industry and also has made its way into the mainstream media, But what exactly is Graphene? Graphene is a carbon-based nanostructure with unique properties. Here is what it looks like on a molecular level. Explain each of these is a carbon atom and they are arranged in a honeycomb like lattice. If we were to take this example and flip it backward and view from the side, essentially we would have a single atom thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged in this fashion Initially Graphene was quite an expensive material to make, in the early/mid 2000s Since that time, the cost of manufacturing large quantities of graphene have dropped with new, scalable methods of manufacture becoming available and it is available in large quantities from commercial suppliers. Due to the material’s unique properties, such as being both strong, thin & flexible and conducting electricity, which is why it has been popular in the semiconductor and solar fuel industries. Some other unique properties of the material however are uniquely suited to applications in the medical field. 2 of which I would like you to aware of. 1) anti-infective properties, the ability retard bacterial growth which have been characterized in the literature and 2) pro-thrombotic properties, so an ability to encourage the formation of clots, which has been explored considerably less.
Medical Applications
• Coat Devices in graphene • Chemical Vapor Deposition
– Multistep process for creating a thin film
• Scalable, modified method for coating with graphene
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Pro-clotting properties retained
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Given these unique properties, how could we leverage Graphene in the medical field? Well we could coat things in Graphene to take advantage of both the anti-infective and clot-promoting properties. Currently, coating surfaces with Graphene is done via chemical vapor deposition. Chemical Vapor Deposition is a commonly applied method for creating thin films through a series of chemical reactions on a starting Dr. Lam and his Georgia Tech colleagues took the standard chemical vapor deposition method and modified the steps so that they could deposit a singe-atom layer of the material onto both flat and porous surfaces, while also be scalable. To ensure the Graphene deposited in this manner maintained its unique properties a series of experiments were performed. Explain experiment & figure
The Bandage
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Elastic/Adhesive Bandage
Absorptive Pad
Graphene Layer
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Knowing these and unique properties you can probably foresee the next extension of this work, taking this material and deposition it onto a wound dressing… and you would be correct. Here we the prototype wound dressing, a bandage or band-aid. Explain image An additional although currently undeveloped benefit to using graphene as the thrombotic agent stems from a unique electrochemical property of graphene in which changes in electrical resistance can be measured across the graphene layer. In this situation, the resistance has been shown to change as the clot forms, rising and eventually plateauing when a clot is fully formed. Explain figure With additional development a resistance sensor/measurement device can be creating providing a way of monitoring clot formation when used in conjugate with the bandage. Now you may have some experience or knowledge about other carbon-based nanotechologies exhibiting toxicity in medical applications, for example implantable carbon nanotubes. The key difference in this application is that the carbon-based nanotechnology, our graphene, stays on the exterior of the body, which is expected to reduce toxicity
Opportunity
• The Market
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• Advanced – Incorporate additional compositions to promote healing
• $6.7B in 2011 &
• Basic - Simple absorbent bandages, gauze, etc.
• Competitors & Costs Many Anitmicrobials & Hydrocolloids –
You might be asking, What is the commercial opportunity for this device, as there are lots and lots of wound dressings out there If we look at the marked for wound dressings it can split in two segments Basic dressings – which include simple absorbent bandages, gauze etc. which as you might imagine is a mature market And Advanced dressings – those which add other chemicals or compositions to the bandage to facilitate healing According to recent market reports, the market for advanced wound healing applications reached $6.7B US in 2011 and is expected to grow further over the next 5 years. This is where the graphene bandage would sit It’s likely niche in the market would be in treating persistent hard to heal wounds rather than first aid or trauma type applications Chronic, hard to heal wounds include conditions such as diabetic ulcers, venous ulcers, and pressure ulcers And each year there are about 5.2M incidents of chronic wounds in the US, mostly within the elderly or aged populations. Given the size of the market, it would be expected that there are existing products within this space, but I would reason that most aren’t actually direct competitors The vast majority of products in the space are bandages incorporating antimicrobial or moisture retaining hydrocolloid gels. There are lots of examples of these and for comparisions sake I pulled some from one of the major players, Kendell Brands, they sell for anywhere between $5-10 per bandage Looking for competitors that actually actively promote clot formation, there are very few. The primary one is a product called quikclot from the company Zmedica Incorporates Kaolin, a natural clay derivative into the bandage It is mostly marketed and used for trauma or first aid applications Has drawbacks – difficult to clean the kaolin from the wound, can cause skin irritation & burns, and can cause the clot to stick to the bandage These bandages sell for anywhere from $25-30 per bandage For comparison’s sake, our investigator anticipates the cost of materials for making our bandage to be around $1
• Scalable, proprietary method for adding graphene • Need for new chronic/difficult to heal wound
solutions • Other iterations or variations of the device could
be created
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So given that niche, in summary why do we think this is an interesting opportunity What we have is a unique advanced wound healing device, a graphene coated bandage. The use of graphene adds both anti infective and pro-clotting properties to device both of which are beneficial to the end user, the patient. Additionally the use of graphene as opposed to other pro-clotting factors yields the potential to monitor the formation of clots electrically. The method for creating this graphene coating of the bandage is proprietary and scalable This technology addresses a large market and distinct unmet needs, as there are few advanced wound dressings that promote clot formation, and those that do are focused toward first aid applications, not toward chronic wounds. And lastly other iterations or variations of the device to address specific needs could be created care device, a graphene coated bandage or dressing that incorporates a graphene whose
Development & Future Plans
• Current – – Deposition method has been developed – in vitro work (platelet aggregation studies) – IP Status – US provisional patent filed 3/6/2012
• Future – – Grant submitted to support further development – Research
• Mouse studies • “Smart Bandage” based on electrochemical properties
of graphene
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With Regards to development of this technology, currently the inventors have Worked though the deposition method and shown they can deposit to both solid surfaces and other materials like the bandage In vitro work showing the pro-clotting effects of the graphene coating has been completed And a provisional patent application has been filed Additional work is planned, and an NIH grant application has been filed Future work will include Mouse studies of bandage prototypes and Creating a “smart bandage” – based upon the electrochemical properties of graphene you can actually measure changes in resistance across the layer and potentially use that change to indicate when a clot has formed
THANK YOU!
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That concludes my presentation, thank you all for your time and attention.
5/8/2012 9 Gateway to Discovery, Innovation, and Products.
5/8/2012 10 Gateway to Discovery, Innovation, and Products.
