research projects

Bioactive PMMA bone cement

For more than 50 years PMMA-based bone cement has been in clinical use practically unchanged in its composition mainly in orthopaedic surgery for the routine fixation of joint endoprostheses. Other areas of use are the filling and reconstruction of bone defects, and in recent years, PMMA-based bone cement is increasingly being used for minimal invasive stabilization of osteoporotic fractures especially of the vertebra (vertebroplasty). It is one of the most common biomaterials implanted with direct contact to bone tissue. A considerable disadvantage of PMMA bone cements, however ...

POROMES - Biofunctionalized metal sponges as bone implants

Almost all implants for bone defect reconstruction in load bearing applications currently available on the market are made of metals, polymeric materials, and sintered ceramics. Though these materials are considered sufficiently biocompatible, they generally do not form stable interfaces with the surrounding bone tissue so that after individually different periods implant failures and necessary revisions may occur. A further important reason for implant failure is the mechanical mismatch of implant and bone structure. This is especially true for large implants designed for bone reconstruction. An ideal material for substitution and regeneration of extended bone defects should fore mostly has high initial mechanical stability and also be degradable. ...

SiNTHOS - Biomimetic composite materials for novel osteosynthesis materials

Osteosynthetic materials (medullary nails, bone screws and plates of various design) to date are mainly made of metallic materials. They find application especially for stabilisation of bone fractures, but also in many other surgical interventions on bones such as e.g. correction of misalignments, treatment of bone tumors, fusion of vertebral bodies, and dental, oral and maxillofacial surgery. Metallic materials will certainly continue to dominate as materials of choice for the mechanically highly loaded areas of the skeleton in the future. On the other hand, many other fields of application are emerging that do not require the high mechanical stability of metallic materials ...

Nanoctructured calcium phosphate bone cements

Calcium phosphate-based bone substitute materials presently available have been used mostly to repair bone defects caused by bone fractures, rebuild diseased bones (bone cysts and bone tumors) and fill defects accompanying orthopaedic implant revisions. They are almost entirely well-tolerated, but have practically no stimulating effect on the natural regeneration capacity of bone. However, bone stimulation is clinically significant, because critical size defects, in particular, heal only very slowly and unreliably without a stimulating impetus. Under these circumstances, the use of autografts is still very common, since they are believed to possess this stimulating potential. However, this approach requires surgical removal of a bone graft from the patient's own body, thus imposing an additional burden on the patient and resulting in higher health care costs. ...

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research projects