When people need a bone replacement following a fracture, it is often based on a metal part. But metal parts are sometimes toxic over time, and will not help the original bone regrow.

Calcium phosphate ceramics, the Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) noted in a press release, are in principle an ideal alternative to conventional metals because bone can eventually replace the ceramic and regrow. Calcium phosphate ceramics are substitutes for the bone mineral hydroxyapatite. However, applications of such ceramics in medical settings have been limited, because there is insufficient control over the rate of absorption and replacement by bone after implantation.

Now, in a study recently published in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, researchers from TMDU and collaborators have studied the transformation of a ceramic into the bone mineral. This work will help move bone regeneration research from laboratories to medical use.

“Medical professionals have long sought a means of healing bone fractures without using implanted medical devices, but the underlying science that can make this dream a reality isn’t yet fully elaborated. Our careful analysis of the effect of the ceramic’s ester alkyl chain length on hydroxyapatite formation, in a simulated body fluid, may help develop a novel bone-replacement biomaterial,” the release quoted lead author Taishi Yokoi as saying.

The researchers have reported that most of the studied ceramics underwent chemical transformations into particulate or fibrous hydroxyapatite within a few days

“We now have specific chemical knowledge on how to tailor the rate of hydroxyapatite growth from calcium phosphate ceramics. We expect that this knowledge will be useful for bench researchers and medical practitioners to more effectively collaborate on tailoring bone reformation rates under medically relevant conditions,” Yokoi was quoted as saying.

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The releases said the results of this study are important for healing bone fractures after surgery. By using chemical insights to optimise the rate of bone reformation after implantation of calcium phosphate ceramics, patient outcomes will improve, and returns to the hospital years later for further repairs will be minimised, it said.

Paper: Taishi Yokoi et al, ‘Transformation behaviour of salts composed of calcium ions and phosphate esters with different linear alkyl chain structures in a simulated body fluid modified with alkaline phosphatase’, Science and Technology of Advanced Materials. doi:10.1080/14686996.2022.2074801

Source: Tokyo Medical & Dental University

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