Advantages And Disadvantages Of Scaffolds

"Several medical companies are developing new porous coatings for implants that promote and increase bone ingrowth and reduce bone shielding effects by the use of titanium-based foams or scaffolds," he explained. "Today's technology works by plasmaspraying the powder onto the implant.

The skeletal system is made up of cartilage and bone. Both bone and cartilage are connective tissues, that is, they are composed of cells in a matrix with intracellular fibers. Just imagine connective tissue as a gelatin salad with grapes and coconut. The grapes would represent cells, the gelatin the support material for matrix, and the pieces of coconut the intracellular fibers. By changing the amounts of each ingredient and adding extra substances, we can produce a material that is very hard like bone and can withstand weight or softer like cartilage which can be used as a cushioning material.

It is a mineralized connective tissue formed by osteoblasts. Osteoblasts deposit a matrix of collagen and also release calcium, magnesium and phosphate ions that chemically combine within the collagenous matrix into a crystalline mineral, known as bone mineral, in the form of HA. Therefore, bone tissue is a natural composite consisting of a collagenous matrix and a mineral phase. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new therapeutic materials with the same hybrid structure that combine the strength, stiffness and osteoconductivity of an inorganic component with the flexibility, toughness and resorbability of an organic phase.[13,14] As such, in recent years, researchers have concentrated on developing the polymer/ceramic nanocomposites, which have the advantages of both polymers (structural stability, strength, biocompatibility and desired shape) and ceramics, and are more similar to natural

For bio-composite, is a composite material formed by a “matrix” and “reinforcement” of natural fibers. These materials are often mimic the structure of the living materials involved in the process keeping the strengthening properties of

In 2011, Professor Susmita Bose, of Washington State University, modified a ProMetal 3D printer to bind chemicals to a ceramic powder, creating intricate scaffolds that promote the growth of bone in any shape. Prof. Bose’s goal is to, one day, be able to implant the bone scaffold with bone growth factors in such a way that the implant is dissolved by natural bone material in even load-bearing bone structures.

Type I collagen clearly contributes to the integrity and strength of bone matrix, and defects in its production leads to bone of poor quality, susceptible to fracture( Kini and Nandeesh 2012). Type I collagen is a triple helical structure consisting of two identical a1 chains and one a2 chain with a non-helical region where the N-telopeptide and C-telopeptide join to the crosslinks (Brown et al.,2009; Bergmann et al., 2009 ; Seibel 2005). During type I collagen synthesis, pro-peptides are released both from the N-terminal and C-terminal ends of the procollagen molecule, after the three individual alpha chains have created the triple helix, which will become part of the collagen fibril( Kini and Nandeesh

Promising materials for nanofibrous scaffolds include poly (ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) in combination with gelatin because electrospun PCL closely resembles the ECM and gelatin is a natural biopolymer with biodegradable and biocompatible properties. Previous studies in the field of tissue engineering have focused on the biological properties and biocompatibility of NGCs, but little work has been done to study the biomechanical properties of NGCs and how they compare to native peripheral nerve tissue in vivo. This is an important area of study because the NGCs must be sufficiently elastic to avoid tension at the injury site, but cannot collapse due to the patient’s movements [7]. Designing NGCs with favorable mechanical properties is necessary for successful axonal growth and nerve regeneration. This research will provide a better understanding of the mechanical properties of peripheral nerve tissue and NGCs as well as develop a method to test the performance of NGCs in

In addition, the biomimetic glue is also able to transport potent drugs or even genes to affected areas where they are needed, whilst fixing the targeted area simultaneously. They can deliver pain killers, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medicines or even stem cells to the sites where the adhesive is applied, making it a great choice for medical procedures involving the repair of broken bone (Noria Corporation, n.d.). Utilizing biomimetic adhesives for the repair of broken bones replaces the need of metal screws and pins which are potentially hazardous and are not always effective, especially for small fractures, making the synthetic adhesives a safer and better alternative (APAGE, 2013). Scientists have also taken an inert polymer naturally found in humans called hyaluronic acid-catechol (fig. 6) and the inert polymer found in algae called alginate catechol (fig.7), and modified them into an adhesive gel that mimics the structure of the proteins in mussel glue by adding

Bones: Possible impacts of FGF2 on osteogenesis and bone recovery have additionally been accounted for. (Lisignoli et al.) refined BMSC's got from rats inside a hyaluronate-based polymer framework with or without FGF2 . They found that the nearness of FGF2 firmly improved the statement of osteogenic targets/markers and generalization, showing a conceivable part in bone recovery. (Tabata et al.) Contemplated the part of FGF2 in a rabbit skull imperfection demonstrate. Gelatin hydro-gel was additionally used to consolidate FGF2 to frame a polyionic complex and capacity as a successful transporter. At 9 weeks, the inserts indicated emotional change in imperfection conclusion, bone mineral thickness, and bone recovery in bunches treated with

For the purpose of creating dentures, many materials have thus far been used, amongst these, poly methylmethacrylate (PMMA) have become the most popularly used materials (Machado et al., 2007). However, this material does come with its set of drawbacks. Its moderate to low fracture strength is the most important drawback (Mumcu et al., 2011). The population that most commonly requires the use of dentures are the older age groups. In view of this, it can be stated that older people have reduced muscular control and hence results in accidents which cause fracture of the dentures (Stipho & Talic, 2001). One way this limitation of the PMMA can be overcome is to add metal frameworks to the denture structure. But even so, drawbacks such as metal corrosion, allergy to the metal, deformation, and also aesthetic concerns do exist. Besides this, there is also difficulty in the casting

Professor Yin Xiao is a world leader in bone and tissue regeneration, with memberships to several international dental and bone research societies. Specialising in biomedical engineering and medical physics, Yin has all the background experience and resources required to complete this degree successfully; stem cells, osteoarthritis, and tissue engineering.

Calcium phosphate crystals are very strong, but inflexible. They can withstand compression, but the crystals are likely to shatter when exposed to bending, twisting, or sudden impacts. Collagen fibers are extremely tough, but quite flexible. They can easily tolerate stretching, twisting, and bending, but when compressed they simply bend out of the way. In bone, the collagen fibers

Polymer Matrix Composites: Most commonly used matrix materials are polymeric. In general the mechanical properties of polymers are inadequate for many structural purposes. In particular their strength and stiffness are low compared to metals and ceramics. These difficulties are overcome by reinforcing other materials with polymers. Secondly the processing of polymer matrix composites need not involve high pressure and doesn’t require high temperature. Also equipments required for manufacturing polymer matrix composites are simpler. For this reason polymer matrix composites developed rapidly and soon became popular for structural

Furthermore, flax fiber modulus is comparable to that of glass but has a lower density, this means that flax fibers actually have a higher specific stiffness than glass fibers. The excellent mechanical properties of flax, combined with the added functionalities they bring, make them a very attractive potential material for fiber reinforced composites. Their remarkable advantages compared with those conventional inorganic man-made fillers enhance their commercial and research

Biocomposites are promising materials of the future because of their good mechanical performance. In spite of these positive points, natural fibers as reinforcements suffer certain drawbacks. Natural fibers are hydrophilic in nature due to the presence of hydroxyl groups which increases moisture sensitivity, where as matrix material is hydrophobic in nature. This leads to poor interfacial adhesion between fiber and matrix. The main role of matrix is to transfer the load on to the fibers at the interface. Efficient load transfer is possible if