Every other Tuesday, the Innovation Institute highlights a technology or a set of technologies from its portfolio of impactful innovations available for licensing or strategic partnerships. This week, we feature a sustainable plastic alternative to conventional plastic, addressing the urgent issue of plastic pollution, including the notorious "Pacific trash vortex" - a massive garbage plastic dump island in the ocean. It is estimated that the Pacific Ocean alone is burdened with over 1.8 million pieces of plastic, forming massive floating patches that pose a severe environmental threat. These plastic fragments, known for their durable molecular structures, take centuries to degrade, with microplastic particles being discovered even in the deepest oceanic depths and within various aquatic species. The technology is spearheaded by Eric Beckman, PhD, Distinguished Service Professor, Swanson School of Engineering and Susan Fullerton Shirey, PhD, Associate Professor, Swanson School of Engineering. SUMMARY: While recent biologically derived materials lack the necessary physical durability for commercial applications, molecular engineering offers a new approach. By creating temporary connections between polysaccharides (carbohydrates or sugars), Pitt researchers can produce robust films that resemble plastics. When these materials come into contact with saltwater, the chains break down after several days, resulting in harmless byproducts that do not endanger living organisms.
Aging along with inflammation, infection, and trauma can all cause damage to joint tissue resulting in arthritic disorders. These disorders can be debilitating, significantly impacting on quality of life.
We're back with another round of Innovation Institute's Tech Tuesdays, where we showcase the most cutting-edge technologies from our impressive portfolio of impactful innovations ready for licensing or strategic partnering! This week we feature a groundbreaking technique that may help improve the health of people dealing with prostate issues. The technology is led by Youko Ikeda, Anthony J. Kanai, and Irina V. Zabbarova, who are all part of the Department of Medicine.
Every other Tuesday, the Innovation Institute highlights a Pitt technology or a set of technologies from its portfolio of impactful innovations available for licensing or strategic partnerships. This week, we feature a technology that provides a novel approach to enhance gene therapy to treat diabetes.
Every other Tuesday, the Innovation Institute highlights a Pitt technology or a set of technologies from its portfolio of impactful innovations available for licensing or strategic partnerships. This week, we feature a technology that has the potential to treat infectious, inflammatory and post-traumatic disorders such as sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis, autoimmune diseases, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, cardiovascular disease and more. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Johns Hopkins University have synthesized new carbon analogs of pyranose derivatives and approaches using these compounds may overcome some of the current challenges of cytokine inhibitors which often only target downstream cytokines and often play a less meaningful role in the inflammatory process.