The University of Malta’s research on materials and structures which defy logic by growing fatter when stretched has attracted huge interest in the international scientific community.
Coordinated by Dr Ruben Gatt and Dr Daphne Attard (of the Metamaterials Unit in the Faculty of Science) with Prof. Joseph N Grima (of the Department of Chemistry), such research could lead to a breakthrough in the healthcare sector – in the area of skin grafts.
The procedure involves the removal of a patient’s undamaged skin to treat other parts of the body, as in burn cases. In cases involving the treatment of large areas, this method has its disadvantages, as the amount of skin which can be removed is quite limited. The mathematical model of the structure developed in Malta could therefore be a game-changer.
The research paper was published last month in Scientific Reports – an online, open-access journal from the publishers of Nature. It immediately caught the eye of the renowned American website Science Daily, which then carried an article on the subject. Created in 1995, Science Daily boasts more than three million monthly visitors and includes over 65,000 research articles.
This is nevertheless a fundamental first step which has to be followed up by thorough testing
The materials the Maltese team is studying are called ‘auxetic’. They exhibit special properties as they grow thicker due to their molecular structure.
Prof. Grima, whose interest in this field goes back some 15 years, explains this principle using a basic model made of rectangular pieces of metal. If these basic elements, which represent a molecular structure, could be bonded together by a series of pivots at the edges, the object could grow in size in more than one direction when stretched, without losing any of its thickness.
“In the case of skin grafting, if we had strips of skin with patterned slits according to this mathematical model, it would be possible to use less ‘material’ and achieve better results, as it would potentially exhibit better conformability properties,” Prof. Grima explained.
Apart from the medical sector, this research, which is being funded through the Malta Council of Science and Technology, has potential applications in industry.
Nonetheless Prof. Grima is not one to get carried away easily. “There is still a long way ahead. I am not expecting a surgeon with 20 years’ experience to change his approach to skin grafting but this is nevertheless a fundamental first step which has to be followed up by thorough testing,” he said.
The 40-year-old professor compares his research to that which paved the way for the introduction of safety belts in automobiles. He says it took years of hard work for the research to materialise as a mainstream, real-life application.
In what was probably a first for Maltese researchers, other work by the same group, this time on tubes which can be used as stents, was included in a special edition of the prestigious Physica Status Solidi magazine, published by Wiley and showcasing 2015 highlights.
Commenting from his modest office, which he shares with a number of PhD students at the Faculty of Science, he says that the talent and quality of his colleagues and students compensates for what Malta lacks in resources. In Malta, it is normal for researchers to wear several hats and have a finger in every pie. This makes them excellent lateral thinkers, an essential skill in research.
“As a matter of fact, I am also involved in a number of other things ranging from sport (regattas) to fireworks, and this gives me a much wider and holistic perspective when compared to foreign colleagues,” Prof. Grima said.
“In this respect I am also working on projects which look at the unique rowing patterns and muscle use of Maltese oarsmen, or how the materials and structures we develop can be used in sports or to improve the quality of boats.
“But that is another story about which I shall be able to tell you more in the future,” he added.