High toughness bioresorbable ceramics for bone regeneration

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Objectives of proposed research program:***High toughness materials are on the forefront of materials science due to their immense number of applications. For instance, in the biomedical field, high toughness ceramics are needed to treat bone reconstructions in maxillofacial and orthopedic applications. However, available biomaterials are either too brittle, or do not get resorb and replaced by living bone in vivo upon implantation, which are critical characteristics for optimal bone regeneration. Accordingly, the ultimate goal of this research program is to create high-toughness bone substitutes with bone-like bioresorption properties. These material will be biomimetic composites made of two bioresorbable materials: a resorbable bioceramic (i.e. brushite, monetite) and bone proteins (i.e. collagen, bone non-collagenous proteins). To achieve this goal, two main objectives will be addressed: (i) Crystals organization (ii) Proteins incorporation.***For the first objective we will study the previously unexplored option of using chiraly pure enantiomers to control crystal growth, to address the second objective we will focus on exploring the use of bone non-collagenous proteins to regulate mineral formation and collagen incorporation onto bioceramics. Summary of scientific approach:***Aim 1) Crystal organization in bioceramics***Crystal organization is critical for the high toughness properties found in naturally occurring biominerals (i.e. bone and teeth), and this is why this objective focuses on mimicking theses structure in synthetic bioceramics. During the formation of natural biominerals, direct contact with specific biomolecules regulates the nucleation, growth, morphology, organization and even function of the biominerals. Interestingly, these functional biomolecules are homochiral composed exclusively L-enantiomers of amino acids and biomolecules. We will explore the use of enantiomerically pure crystal growth inhibitors to fabricate bioceramics with organized crystallographic structure and subsequently, high toughness.***Aim 2) Bone organic ECM plays a crucial role in organizing and reinforcing bone mineral structure, and regulating its interactions with the surrounding cells. This is why bone-derived materials present much better mechanical properties and bioactivity than synthetic calcium phosphate cements. Accordingly, the second aim of the research program will focus on investigating how to incorporate bone proteins into di-calcium phosphate bioceramics to improve both the biological and the mechanical properties.