NER: Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Novel Biologically-Inspired Nanostructured Materials as Bone Prostheses

目前用作骨植入物的金属合金通常由于与并置骨的结合不良（即骨整合）而失效。骨整合对于稳定植入物是必要的，这样可以支持生理负载条件，从而使患者能够过上正常、积极的生活。植入物的不完全骨整合可能由以下原因引起：（i）表面特性不支持新骨生长，以及（ii）植入物与周围骨之间的机械特性不匹配，可能导致应力和应变不平衡，从而导致植入物松动、失效和最终手术取出。拟议的研究将设计，合成和评估生物启发的材料，通过将分散的纳米陶瓷颗粒在聚合物基质中模拟骨。由于身体的所有组织都是纳米结构的，因此本研究的积极结果将提供证据表明，合成的、生物启发的纳米材料配方的设计可能会增加植入物在许多应用中的功效。

Metallic alloys currently used as bone implants often fail due to poor bonding to juxtaposed bone (i.e. osseointegration). Osseointegration is necessary to stabilize the implant so that physiological loading conditions can be supported, thereby enabling the patient to lead a normal, active life. Incomplete osseointegration of implants can be caused by (i) surface properties that do not support new bone growth and (ii) mismatch of mechanical properties between an implant and surrounding bone that may lead to stress and strain imbalances that cause implant loosening, failure, and eventual surgical removal. The proposed study will design, synthesize, and evaluate biologically-inspired materials that mimic bone by incorporating dispersed nanoceramic particles in polymer matrices. Since all tissues of the body are nanostructured, positive results on the present study would provide evidence that the design of synthetic, biologically-inspired, nanomaterial formulations may increase the efficacy of implants in numerous applications.