Regenerative bone implants (NGN4187)

Biomaterials are products of natural or man-made origin that are used to direct, supplement, or replace the function of living tissues. There is an increasing need for the development of 'smart' biomaterials eleciting predictable and controlled responses as required by their application. For example, biomaterials serving as permanent replacement of diseased or traumatized bone and teeth, require an interface that is contiguous with the surrounding bone. On the other hand, devices for temporary fixation require inertness, or even controlled development of fibrosis following implantation. Currently, such a predicted tissue response at the tissue/implant interface is difficult to obtain. This project will address this issue.
We shall perform an in depth analysis of the biomaterial/bone tissue interface both at the molecular and cellular level to obtain more insight in bone-biomaterial responses. A new radiofrequency sputtering technique will be used to deposit thin films of Ca-P ceramics on metallic (titanium) and (tissue culture) polymer substrates. Advantages of this technique are that:

1. the chemical composition and crystallinity state of these coatings can be easily varied, resulting in highly reproducible interfaces with biological properties ranging from inert to bioactive, and
2. the cells grow on transparent thin flat surfaces. This enables evaluation of responses of bone cells independent of other variables, such as surface geometry, and facilitate analysis of these biointerfaces by electron microscopical-, biochemical-, and ion beam analytical- techniques.

The final goal of this project is to deliver medical and dental bone implants designed and fabricated according to requirements that depend on their intended clinical application. The renewing element in this project is that the various processes involved in bone tissue formation are investigated in a systematic and quantitive way by combination of state-of the-art biological and engineering technologies. To this end three research groups, each with their specific expertise, will join their efforts. The groups are the Dept. Biomaterials and the Dept. Immunology of the University of Nijmegen and the Debey Institute of the University of Utrecht (Dept. Atomic & Interface Physiscs). This combined strategy is unique and is based on the observation that interfacial cellular phenomena show a strong resemblance with physicochemical phenomena.

Resultaten van het onderzoek