Novel Bandage That Can Repair Fractures

Novel material that allows the transplantation of bone-forming stem cells into severe bone fractures has been developed by researchers. The material can speed up the healing process and may change how broken bones are treated.

The study //is published in the journal Nature Materials.

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‘Biomaterial like a bandage with stem cells and bone cells can be used to speed up the process of healing by placing them on fractures. They are safe and powerful and can also be made using biodegradable materials.’
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The biomaterial with stem cells and mature bone cells can lead to fewer complications, infections and poor outcomes for serious injuries.

The biomaterial is like a bandage. It is coated with a proper commonly used for growth and repair.

The bandage can be stuck to the fracture like a plaster. It enhances the bone's natural ability to heal and also speeds up the repair process.

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The process can be further accelerated by growing bone stem cells. These cells can generate bone cells in a three-dimensional gel on the bandage.

Current methods to repair bone use synthetic implants or donor tissue and relies on the body’s capability to heal. A body’s capability to heal a fracture may be weakened after a serious injury.

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Cell-based therapies have been promising. Additional cells are grown and introduced into the fracture; however, the implanted cells often die and lack long term support of the healing bone.

The 'bone-like bandage' supports the stem and bone cells throughout the healing process.

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The bandage was designed to specifically target the fracture and not leak into surrounding healthy tissue.

Biodegradable bandages could also be made so that the body can absorb them after they have healed the fracture.

These bandages have the potential to be used in hospitals as they are powerful and have safety features.

"Our technology is the first to engineer a bone-like tissue from human bone stem cells in the lab within one week, and successfully transplant it in the bone defect to initiate and accelerate bone repair. The concept of the 3D-engineered tissue and the bandage has the potential to be developed to different injured tissues and organs," said, Dr.Shukry Habib.

The research team will be further testing the bone-bandages in clinical trials. They aim to apply the bandages concept to improve healing in other organs and tissues.

Source-Medindia