Researchers at the University of Iowa have created an implantable bio patch that can regrow damaged or missing bone, according to a press release from the school.
The bio patch, which is a kit that relies on a collagen platform seeded with particles containing the genes needed for producing bone. The nano-sized particle successfully regrew bone fully enough to cover skull wounds in test animals, and it stimulated new growth in human bone marrow stromal cells in lab experiments.
"We delivered the DNA to the cells, so that the cells produce the protein and that's how the protein is generated to enhance bone regeneration," Aliasger Salem, researcher and professor in the College of Pharmacy, said in a statement. "If you deliver just the protein, you have to keep delivering it with continuous injections to maintain the dose. With our method, you get local, sustained expression over a prolonged period of time without having to give continued doses of protein."
Unlike previous studies where researchers administered proteins from the outside, which according to researchers is costly and harder to replicate consistently, researchers for this study directly delivered bone-producing proteins to the cells.
Researchers believe the patch has several potential uses in dentistry where it could be used to regrow bones in gums to help provide support to dental implants.
Satheesh Elangovan, author of the study, said the prospect would be a "life-changing experience" for patients who need implants and don't have enough bone in the surrounding area.
"We can make a scaffold in the actual shape and size of the defect site, and you'd get complete regeneration to match the shape of what should have been there," Elangovan said in a statement.
According to researchers, the technique can also be used to repair birth defects where there's missing bone around the head or face.
Elangovan and Salem next hope to create a bio platform that promotes new blood vessel growth- needed for extended and sustained bone growth.
