Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology
Posted: April 15, 2006
A new technology that provides a method for making scaffolds for bone tissue may improve construction or repair of bones in the face, skull and jaw. The scaffolds are fused with a patients' own cells and composed of a cement paste made of minerals also found in natural bone. The paste is mixed with beads of a natural polymer (made from seaweed) filled with bone cells. The paste is shaped or injected into a bone cavity and then allowed to harden with the encapsulated cells dispersed throughout the structure. The natural polymer beads gradually dissolve when exposed to the body's fluids, creating a scaffold that is filled by the now released bone cells.
Commentary: This procedure appears to accelerate bone growth and is a promising area of regenerative medicine that, in the future, could improve outcomes of reconstructive and plastic surgery.
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