Whether caused by injury, disease, or other factors, bone loss can be very difficult to replace. However, new injectable hydrogels have the potential to change this situation, as they transform into robust bone regeneration materials when exposed to visible light.
Bone injuries such as fractures usually heal on their own, but large areas of bone that are missing (known as “bone defects”) often do not regenerate.
As a result, it must be filled with a piece of bone tissue, usually taken from one of the patient’s leg bones. Not only is this an invasive and painful procedure, it also simply moves the bone defect from one part of the skeleton to another.
In search of more effective alternatives, some groups are developing bone-like porous materials that are placed into the defect in place of real bone.
Cells from adjacent bone tissue gradually migrate into such materials, where they proliferate as the material biodegrades harmlessly. Eventually, the grafted material will be completely replaced by new natural bone.
Some of these experimental bone regeneration materials are first 3D printed outside the body and then fixed into the defect using adhesive. Unfortunately, such adhesives sometimes fail.
Another approach is to inject the material directly into the defect in the form of a gel, which is then allowed to harden into a solid. While this may sound like a better technique, some of these materials take longer to cure, are not biodegradable enough, or lack mechanical strength. there is.
That’s where new materials come in.
Created by Professor Hyung Joon Cha and colleagues at South Korea’s Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), the hydrogel contains alginate (derived from algae), bioengineered mussel adhesion proteins, calcium ions, and a compound known as phosphonodiol. chemical substances and photoreactive agents.
When the gel is injected into a bone defect and irradiated with harmless visible light, its polymer chains cross-link with each other, creating a strong, porous, biodegradable solid that binds tightly to adjacent bone tissue.
As this happens, amorphous calcium phosphate forms within the material. This highly bone-like compound acts as a “roost” for neighboring bone cells, increasing the rate at which they migrate, regenerate, and replace material with real bone.
Postec
This hydrogel was successfully tested in rats with femoral bone defects. There is currently no word on when human clinical trials will begin.
“The injectable hydrogel system for bone regeneration developed by our research team is an innovative alternative to traditional complex treatments for bone diseases and will significantly advance bone tissue regeneration technology.” says Cha.
A paper on this research was recently published in the journal Biomaterials.
Source: Postec
