Source: Friedrich Schiller University JenaMaterial scientists at Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany have developed a self-healing bone replacement material.

To develop the material, researchers added carbon fibers to calcium phosphate cement — which is already widely used in the healthcare industry to stimulate bone formation and is often introduced as a paste that bonds to the bone.

Without the carbon fibers, the calcium phosphate cement is brittle and cracks under excessive loads. Yet, according to researchers, the carbon fibers increase the cement’s tolerance for damage, bridging fissures and cracks that would typically form under load, leading to a treated object’s collapse. Instead, the cracks are bridged and prevented from opening further. Likewise, the carbon fiber surfaces are chemically activated, which means that once they are exposed to the body fluid that collects in the fissures, mineralization commences. The result is a building block of bone tissue called apatite that closes the crack, thereby healing the treated bone.

The research is detailed in the journal Scientific Advances.