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Bio medical engineers at Tufts University's School of Engineering have demonstrated the first all-polymeric bone scaffold material that is biodegradable and capable of providing mechanical support during repair. The new technology uses silk fibers to reinforce a silk matrix. It could improve the way bones and other tissues are repaired following accident or disease. 1.3 Million people undergo bone graft surgeries in the US a year, and the supply for self-donated tissue is very limited. Also donated tissue can be rejected by the body. The silk scaffold is strong and has generated good cell responses. There are polymeric bone scaffolds currently, but they lack strength. "By adding the microfibers to the silk scaffolds, we get stronger mechanical properties as well as better bone formation. Both structure and function are improved," said David Kaplan, Ph.D., chair of biomedical engineering at Tufts University.
This relates to this years biology course because we have learned about the skeletal system and bones in the unit of the first of the Human systems. And if a bone is broken or has disease, which we also learned about, they are under a homeostatic imbalance. These surgeries help the bones recover from the homeostatic imbalance. These graft surgeries help repair bone tissues, which we also learned about in the unit.
Biman, Mandal B. "Improved Bone Repair With High-Strength Silk Scaffolds." Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, 02 May 2012. Web. 06 May 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/244794.php>.
Do you believe that this field of work will be expanded and applied more often in medical fields even though as you said it is biodegradable, thus to maintain the support, wouldn't a person need to undergo many surgeries to reapply the silk scaffolding.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that this material could be used for major bones, or only minor? Silk is strong, but the material may not be able to hold the pressure of almost an entire person as it would have to in the foot or leg.
ReplyDeleteI believe this field of work will be expanded because it provides a stronger support during repair. The silk scaffolding is only during the repair of a bone, so only one surgery of this would be necessary, as compared to one that is not biodegradable, there would have to be another surgery to remove the scaffold, but now since it is biodegradable it will just leave the body naturally.
ReplyDeleteI think that this material could be applied to major bones because there are added microfibers added to the already strong silk, which creates a very strong material that could hold the pressure of an entire person.
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