A Novel Porous Glass To Regrow Bones

Certainly not your everyday window glass. A multidisciplinary team of materials science researchers from Lehigh University, Princeton University, Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal, and Alexandria University in Egypt, have developed a highly porous and biocompatible glass scaffold that regenerates bone. Shortly after implantation, seeded cells adhere to the scaffold and form a bone matrix around the glass. As the treated bone regenerates, the scaffold biodegrades.
Current materials used for scaffolds include polymers/hydrogels which are porous and biocompatible but floppy, ceramics which are porous but brittle, and other natural resources. The ideal scaffold should be osteoconductive and biodegradable at a rate which complements the growth of host tissue.
Next steps include making the glass more readily molded into complex shapes such as a tube, a finger or a mandible and clinical trials in humans. Areas that could benefit from this technology include osteoporosis, dental implants, and drug delivery.
Lehigh University press release: Glass helps damaged bone regenerate…
And pieces of the science: Glass Bone Matrix…