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Pearls have become the personal signature of burns specialist Fiona Wood.

Now, the substance that forms the luminous gems may be used by Winthrop Professor Wood in her quest for functional skin regeneration after injury.

Professor Wood is one of a group of UWA scientists who is looking at processing pearl nacre for bionanotechnology: nano-particles for cosmetics and products for tissue engineering to promote functional nerve and skin regrowth.

(Nano-particles are defined as having a measurement of less than 100 nanometres, a metre being a billion nanometres.)

Winthrop Professor Colin Raston and Dr Swaminatha Iyer from the Centre for Strategic Nano-fabrication, Professor Sarah Dunlop, a neuroscientist in Animal Biology, and Professor Charles Bond in Biomedical Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences, join her in the project to examine and develop uses for what is often referred to as ‘mother of pearl' and is essentially a waste product of the pearling industry.

Professor Raston, who initiated and is leading the project, also has a connection with pearls. He lived in Broome where his grandfather built pearling luggers.

"I was contacted by Barry Humphrey from Pearl Technology, asking if we could do anything with this waste product," Professor Raston said. "These pearls come from the Abrolhos Islands, from clear unpolluted water, which makes the nacre a perfect material for us to look at."

He said crushed pearl shells had been used in traditional medicines in China and in cosmetics for many years.

"The pearl shell has the same structure as the pearl inside. It's calcium carbonate, but what gives it its lustre is the separation between the microscopic brick-like particles."

Professor Wood said the team needed first to understand the structure and how they could manipulate it to provide surfaces suitable for cell growth. "Then we can look at possibly building scaffolds or a template for cells to fix onto. We are always looking to improve the tissue protection and regeneration systems we use, from dressings to scaffolds. This is an unexplored area which is exciting to investigate."

Professor Dunlop said the team was considering the use of the pearl nacre in cosmetics, which could provide some funding for further research.

"Then we could examine its use for tissue regeneration, initially for skin regeneration after burns, to prevent scarring and regain function," she said. "And then, perhaps, we could look at using it, at the nano-particle size, as a scaffold for encouraging nerve regeneration."

She said the nano-particle-sized ‘bricks' or ‘cylinders' could also be considered for controlled drug delivery.

Professor Dunlop's work in experimental and regenerative neuroscience has the ultimate goal of regenerating human nerve fibres, so victims of neurotrauma, such as head or spinal cord injury, can feel again, walk again and live a normal life after accidents that would otherwise leave them in wheelchairs or with other permanent and devastating disabilities.

After working for many years with small vertebrates, Professor Dunlop and her team began working with Professor Wood, combining their special skills, so burns victims could hope for total rehabilitation.

Professor Wood said the nanotechnology experts (Professor Raston and Dr Iyer) were the key to the use of pearl nacre, with much to do before others in the team moved towards cell experiments.

Dr Iyer said biomimicry, mimicking and understanding the growth of the well-defined structures that form the pearl shell, was the underpinning theme of the research project.

"Biomineralisation, a process by which living organisms produce minerals, could be said to prove that nanotechnology exists in nature," he said. "And we are aiming to mimic it once we understand the concept."

The question the team is asking is can these well-formed structures help to (for example) regenerate skin by providing well-defined growth supports?

Professor Raston hopes the answer is yes. "Nanotechnology has exciting potential to solve major health challenges of the 21st century," he said.

Published in UWA News , 29 November 2010