COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR HARD TISSUE REPLACEMENT

由创伤、疾病或先天性缺陷引起的骨缺损传统上通过使用内源性骨、外源性骨或合成替代物（包括金属、陶瓷和聚合物）作为替代材料的移植手术来修复。 虽然这些方法已经成功地使用了几十年，但它们都存在缺点。 在过去的几年中，许多研究致力于开发最终降解以允许天然骨再生长的骨替代物。 这些努力导致了新的生物材料的开发和对骨形成过程的更好理解。 根据这一新知识，TDA研究公司。(TDA)计划开发一种新的无机-有机复合材料，可用作骨替代物，以修复大型和不规则的骨缺损。TDA的复合骨替代物将在手术过程中作为糊剂或油灰使用，并可在体内成型和加工。固化后的材料将具有优异的机械性能，并在植入后变得多孔。 孔隙率对于获得骨传导性至关重要。TDA的可生物降解骨替代物的降解产物将是无毒的。 该复合材料将被设计为在降解过程中保持强度。拟议的商业应用：TDA的骨替代品将用于硬组织替代的生物材料行业。 目前，生物材料行业在骨替代材料上花费了23亿美元（Suchanek 1998）。

Bone defects caused by trauma, disease or congenital deficiency have traditionally been restored with graft procedures using endogenous bone, exogenous bone, or synthetic substitutes, including metals, ceramics, and polymers, as replacement materials. Although these methods have been used successfully for decades, all of them present drawbacks. During the last few years much research has been devoted to the development of bone substitutes that eventually degrade to allow re-growth of the natural bone. These efforts have led to the development of new biomaterials and a better understanding of the bone-forming process. In light of this new knowledge, TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) plans to develop a new inorganic-organic composite that can be used as a bone substitute to repair large and irregular bony defects. TDA's composite bone substitute will be used as a paste or putty at the time of the surgical procedure and can be shaped and processed in vivo. The cured material will have excellent mechanical properties and become porous after implantation. Porosity is crucial for obtaining osteoconductivity. Degradation products from TDA's biodegradable bone substitute will be non-toxic. The composite will be designed to retain strength as the degradation proceeds. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: TDA's bone substitute will be used in the biomaterial industry of hard tissue replacement. Currently the biomaterial industry spends $2.3 billion on bone replacement materials (Suchanek 1998).