Novel multilayered synthetic structural bone graft materials which combine biocompatibility, biodegradability and high toughness

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Due to the ageing world population, techniques to replace, restore, or regenerate bone havebecome a major clinical need in the fields of orthopaedic, spinal, dental, cranial, andmaxillofacial surgery. For these patients that suffer from bone loss and bone defects, surgicaltreatment remains a major challenge. Traditional bone grafting techniques have performancelimitations including donor site morbidity, viral transmission, immunologic incompatibility, longrehabilitation time and structural failure. The need for new strategies for the treatment of bonedefects is therefore urgent. The ideal bone graft material must: (i) match the mechanicalproperties of healthy bone; (ii) be biocompatible and promote healing and (iii) must degradeover time to be replaced by healthy bone. To this day, there is no synthetic material that canfulfill these three requirements simultaneously. In this project we will develop a new structuralbone graft made from calcium sulfate, collagen and gelatin. All components of this materialare fully biocompatible and FDA-approved for use as biomaterials. The mineral contentprovides stiffness, while the weaker protein layers can deflect incoming cracks to generatetoughness. The implication is that this material can be used to fabricate load-carrying grafts,as opposed to traditional calcium phosphates/sulfates which are too brittle. The structuralbone graft can be of varying sizes and dimensions. In-vivo performance will be evaluated withan animal study. In addition, bone grafts with complex patient-specific shapes will bedeveloped using 3D printed polymeric templates. This new medical technology will have asignificant impact on restoring functionality and quality of life in patients requiringreconstruction of structural bone defects secondary to trauma, failed arthroplasties, bonetumors, maxillofacial surgery or other bone diseases.