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IOWA CITY, Iowa, USA: Researchers from the University of Iowa have developed a biopatch that could help repair missing or damaged bone. They believe that the patch has several potential uses in dentistry. For instance, it could be used to rebuild bone in the gum area to form a foundation for dental implants or to repair craniofacial birth defects.
In the study, the researchers used a collagen scaffold seeded with particles containing DNA that encodes a growth factor called PDGF-B and thus delivers bone-producing instructions directly to cells in existing bones, allowing those cells to produce the proteins that enhance bone regeneration.
According to the scientists, preliminary laboratory experiments with missing skull bone showed significantly higher new bone volume in skull defects (5 mm × 2 mm) treated with the seeded scaffolds four weeks after implantation compared with empty scaffolds. They reported that the seeded biopatch grew 44 times more bone and soft tissue in the affected area. In addition, confocal microscopy established significant proliferation of human bone marrow cells on loaded collagen scaffolds compared with empty scaffolds.
The researchers pointed out that their delivery system is nonviral, meaning that it is less likely to cause an undesired immune response and is easier to produce in mass quantities, resulting in lower costs.
Conventionally, growth-stimulating protein delivery relies on repeated injections into the bone, which is costly and invasive. Thus, the findings suggest that the PDGF-B gene-activated scaffolds are an attractive gene delivery system that delivers such proteins locally over a prolonged period. According to the researchers, it has significant potential for clinical translation.
The study, titled "The Enhancement of Bone Regeneration by Gene Activated Matrix Encoding for Platelet Derived Growth Factor," will be published in the January issue of the Biomaterials journal.
