News in Science

Biomaterial helps rebuild broken bones

A synthetic biomaterial that encourages the body to create bone could be the answer to successful bone grafts and treating bone disease, say Australian researchers.

Dr Cameron Lutton of Queensland University of Technology (QUT) says the biomaterial activates the initial stages of bone healing.

"The biomaterial interacts with blood and mimics early bone healing events," says Lutton.

After a bone is broken, there is a fast inflammatory response where blood clots and specialised cells are quickly attracted to the fracture site. These cells encourage a cascade of proteins, hormones and other cells to create new bone.

But if the gap is too large, due to a large break or removal of a tumour, this natural process can't happen.

"If the chunk of bone missing is too big it can't heal, this is the circumstance that people need assistance," says Lutton.

Bone grafts or synthetic materials are used to assist in the healing process, but they have their limitations.

"There are several products that fill up bone holes with minerals found in bone. It looks like bone, but it isn't and it can't be dealt with by the body in the same way," says Lutton.

The biomaterial created by researchers at QUT and Stryker Australia, encourages the body's natural clotting process, promoting bone growth.

Encouraging growth

The key to the biomaterial is its surface structure, which is coated by a special arrangement of polymers that attract the right proteins to the wounded bone, explains Dr Ben Goss project researcher.

"There are polymers that attract proteins and those that repel them. By getting the right balance we can attract and repel the right proteins to create bones," says Goss.

Under laboratory conditions the biomaterial induces the proteins and hormones needed for the initial inflammatory response.

"We know that it does the right thing to the blood to begin bone regeneration," says Goss.

The next step is to determine whether later stages in the bone regeneration process are happening.

Successful preliminary results were presented at the Australia New Zealand Orthopaedic Research Society's meeting late last year, and animal trials are currently underway.

If the trials are successful the biomaterial will move to human trials to treat patients with significant bone defects.

According to the researchers bone disease affect more than a million people worldwide. They say half a million bone grafts are performed annually in the United States to fill fractures that cannot naturally heal.