A synthetic bone graft developed in London is matching the performance of autograft, scientists reported today.
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London believe they have developed a graft that is "as clever as bone."
The graft has been developed by introducing silicate into hydroxyapatite, which contains calcium and phosphate and is a traditional synthetic substitute because of its chemical similarities to bone.
The researchers say the new formula has allowed them to change the physical composition of the graft so it has a similar pore structure to natural bone tissue.
They have reported their findings in the Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine.
They say that by eight to twelve weeks the performance of the graft matched the performance of autografts in laboratory studies.
Researcher Dr Karin Hing said: “This new study has real implications for anyone suffering from any sort of skeletal injury, and for surgeons in particular.
"At the moment the preference is to use the patients’ own tissue to create or enhance bone grafts. However our results show that Inductigraft can be just as effective, with the advantage that patient doesn’t have to undergo additional surgery to harvest the autograft.”
Dr Hing added: “Our challenge is to develop a graft that’s as clever as bone.
"For this synthetic graft, we looked at the mechanics of how bone adapts to its environment and changed both the chemical and physical composition of the graft, specifically how the holes within the structure are placed and interconnected."
Efficacy of Silicate-substituted calcium phosphate with enhanced strut porosity as a standalone bone graft substitute and autograft extender in an ovine distal femoral critical defect model. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine 18 December 2015
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