Researchers treated nanocrystals derived from plant cellulose so that they can link up and form a strong but lightweight sponge (an aerogel) that can compress or expand as needed to completely fill out a bone cavity. Source: Clare Kiernan, UBC

Researchers from the University of British Columbia and McMaster University created a foam-like material that could be the future of implant technology. The foam can be injected straight into the body, where it then acts as scaffolding for new bone growth.

The material is made from plant cellulose, which is nontoxic to the human body. The cellulose forms a strong and lightweight sponge that can compress and expand to fill the bone cavity. As the bone grows back, the scaffolding breaks down in the body and by the time the patient has healed fully, the material is broken down completely.

"Most bone graft or implants are made of hard, brittle ceramic that doesn't always conform to the shape of the hole, and those gaps can lead to poor growth of the bone and implant failure," said study author Daniel Osorio, a Ph.D. student in chemical engineering at McMaster. "We created this cellulose nanocrystal aerogel as a more effective alternative to these synthetic materials."

The team tested its new invention on two groups of rats. Group one received the sponge implant and group two didn’t. The results were very promising. After three weeks, group one had 33% more bone growth than group two. At the 12 week mark, group one had 50% more bone growth.

The bone grafting market in North America is worth $2 billion. The new material would fill a niche spot in that market, according to study co-author Kathryn Grandfield, a professor of materials science and engineering, and biomedical engineering at McMaster.

"We can see this aerogel being used for a number of applications including dental implants and spinal and joint replacement surgeries," said Grandfield. "And it will be economical because the raw material, the nanocellulose, is already being produced in commercial quantities."

The material needs more testing and development before it could be used on humans. The next step is for the team to test the mechanisms between the bone and the implant during bone growth.

A paper on the study was published in Acta Biomaterialia.