Accidents or surgeries like that of when a tumor is cut away generally leave gaps in bones. In such cases bone-grafting are done by crafting a scaffold made of carbon nanotubes or other artificial material to fill the gaps.
Do you know, to improve bone grafts, seaweed, and crustacean shells can contribute a lot? That is what the scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology claim. So, can we say bone-grafting gets organic!
In the new system, bone cells grow from inside the scaffold. It produces a structure, more consistently solid. And this eventually morphs into natural bone. The system combines calcium phosphate-made cement and a commercial mesh that gradually dissolves in the body. Calcium phosphate is a mineral found in bone.
The surgeons do not necessarily have to form the cement; he can also inject it straight into the gap. The biodegradable mesh reinforces the cement making it stronger enough to survive until natural-bone reinforcements arrive. The structure can be made even stronger by adding chitosan — a biopolymer extracted from crustacean shells.
Via: Live Science
