BIORESS

Bioactive resorbable scaffolds for drug delivery in bone tissue engineering

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Bone tissue engineering is a new research area with clinical applications in the replacement of diseased or damaged bone tissues. The challenge of tissue engineering is to develop a suitable bone scaffold with sufficient porosity and mechanical strength to allow a good integration with the surrounding tissues. Bioactive resorbable scaffolds that combine the characteristics of materials for bone tissue engineering with the one of drug delivery systems, are an innovative approach in materials engineering field. By implantation of these materials in the desired body location, they will release the therapeutic agent, improving the efficiency of the clinical treatment. Due to their bioactivity, they can be used as bone substitute, increasing the bone integration (osteointegration). Due to their biodegradation, they can control the kinetics releasing of the active agent. The scaffold porosity controls the amount of the therapeutic agent that can be incorporated. Therefore, the aim of this project is the development, characterisation and in vitro experimentation of novel macroporous scaffolds with highly interconnected porosity and controlled biodegradability for drug delivery in bone tissue engineering. Optimisation of the scaffold structure is essential to achieve both adequate mechanical and biological response in clinical applications. The macro and microstructure of the porous scaffolds will be investigated. Cell culturing experiments will be carried out to assess the biological behaviour of these materials. The scaffold surface will be functionalized in order to bind specific macromolecules (proteins, antibiotics, growth factors etc.) for drug delivery. The dependence of the drug delivery profiles on the scaffold biodegradation will be studied in vitro. We expect that these innovative materials will be useful as delivery systems for cells and biological molecules in bone tissue engineering applications.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

A new biomaterial has been developed as a substitute for bone grafts. By promoting bone growth it could become a new treatment for repairing damaged bones.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Bone replacements are frequently used to substitute damaged tissue resulting from trauma, disease or surgery. However, there are limitations and complications associated with the use of current therapies for bone grafts, which means there is an urgent need for bone substitutes.

The aim of the EU-funded project 'Bioactive resorbable scaffolds for drug delivery in bone tissue engineering' (Bioress) was to address this need. Bone-tissue engineering is a relatively new field that combines biology and engineering to develop bone substitutes that restore and maintain the function of human bone tissue.

Most bone substitutes require a bone scaffold. This is a three-dimensional (3D) porous structure that can be used as a bone graft. Scaffolds made of phosphate glasses are an attractive solution since they are restorable, i.e. they can be broken down and assimilated back into the human body. They are also biocompatible, bioactive and are able to support bone growth.

Phosphate glasses were obtained using the traditional glass-making method of melting and quenching. The glasses were then used to produce macroporous 3D-scaffolds for bone regeneration. Project partners characterised the scaffolds in terms of microstructure, solubility, bioactivity and mechanical strength. They also evaluated biocompatibily in the laboratory using human bone marrow cells. The study showed that cells attached themselves to the scaffold and multiplied.

More work is needed before clinical trials can begin. However, if successful then the next challenge will be to develop the advanced manufacturing systems that are required to fabricate the complex scaffolds with controlled distributions of materials and drugs to stimulate cell growth.