Artificial bone
Encyclopedia
Artificial bone refers to bone
-like material created in a laboratory that can be used in bone grafts
, to replace human bone that was lost due to severe fractures, disease, etc.
s are rigid organs that serve various functions in the human body (or generally in vertebrate
s), including mechanical support, protection of soft organs, blood
production (from bone marrow
), etc. Bone is a very complex tissue: strong, elastic, and self-repairing.
Damaged bone can be replaced with bone from other parts of the body (autografts), from cadavers (allograft), or with various ceramics or metallic alloy
s. The use of autografts limits how much bone is available, while the other options can result in rejection by the human body.
There has been much research towards creating artificial bone. Richard J. Lagow, at the University of Texas at Austin
, developed a way of creating a strong bone-like porous structure from bone powder, which, when introduced in the body, can allow the growth of blood vessels, and which can be gradually replaced by natural bone. Research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
has resulted in a metal-ceramic composite that has, like bone, a fine microstructure, and which may help create artificial bone. A team of British scientists have developed "injectable bone", a soft substance which hardens in the body. They won the Medical Futures Innovation Award for their discovery, and it is planned to test this material in clinical trials.
Researchers at Columbia University
have grown an anatomically correct human jawbone from stem cell
s, though it was solid bone without the normal accessory tissues such as bone marrow
, cartilage
, or a connectable blood supply. Other researchers, at the Istec bioceramic
s laboratory in Italy
, have produced a nearly identical substitute for human bone out of rattan
wood
. The substitute bone has a porous structure permitting blood vessels and other accessory tissues to penetrate it, allowing seamless integration into the host bone. The process has been tested on sheep, who showed no signs of rejection
after several months.
Bone
Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
-like material created in a laboratory that can be used in bone grafts
Bone grafting
Bone grafting is a surgical procedure that replaces missing bone in order to repair bone fractures that are extremely complex, pose a significant health risk to the patient, or fail to heal properly....
, to replace human bone that was lost due to severe fractures, disease, etc.
Overview
BoneBone
Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
s are rigid organs that serve various functions in the human body (or generally in vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s), including mechanical support, protection of soft organs, blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
production (from bone marrow
Bone marrow
Bone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...
), etc. Bone is a very complex tissue: strong, elastic, and self-repairing.
Damaged bone can be replaced with bone from other parts of the body (autografts), from cadavers (allograft), or with various ceramics or metallic alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
s. The use of autografts limits how much bone is available, while the other options can result in rejection by the human body.
There has been much research towards creating artificial bone. Richard J. Lagow, at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, developed a way of creating a strong bone-like porous structure from bone powder, which, when introduced in the body, can allow the growth of blood vessels, and which can be gradually replaced by natural bone. Research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory conducting unclassified scientific research. It is located on the grounds of the University of California, Berkeley, in the Berkeley Hills above the central campus...
has resulted in a metal-ceramic composite that has, like bone, a fine microstructure, and which may help create artificial bone. A team of British scientists have developed "injectable bone", a soft substance which hardens in the body. They won the Medical Futures Innovation Award for their discovery, and it is planned to test this material in clinical trials.
Researchers at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
have grown an anatomically correct human jawbone from stem cell
Stem cell
This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...
s, though it was solid bone without the normal accessory tissues such as bone marrow
Bone marrow
Bone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...
, cartilage
Cartilage
Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
, or a connectable blood supply. Other researchers, at the Istec bioceramic
Bioceramic
Bioceramics and bioglasses are ceramic materials that are biocompatible. Bioceramics are an important subset of biomaterials. Bioceramics range in biocompatibility from the ceramic oxides, which are inert in the body, to the other extreme of resorbable materials, which are eventually replaced by...
s laboratory in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, have produced a nearly identical substitute for human bone out of rattan
Rattan
Rattan is the name for the roughly 600 species of palms in the tribe Calameae, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia.- Structure :...
wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
. The substitute bone has a porous structure permitting blood vessels and other accessory tissues to penetrate it, allowing seamless integration into the host bone. The process has been tested on sheep, who showed no signs of rejection
Transplant rejection
Transplant rejection occurs when transplanted tissue is rejected by the recipient's immune system, which destroys the transplanted tissue. Transplant rejection can be lessened by determining the molecular similitude between donor and recipient and by use of immunosuppressant drugs after...
after several months.