Abstract
Biomaterials for bone regeneration are constantly under development, and their application in critical-sized defects represents a promising alternative to bone grafting techniques. However, the ability of all these materials to produce bone mechanically comparable with the native tissue remains unclear. This study aims to explore the full-field strain evolution in newly formed bone tissue produced in vivo by different osteoinductive strategies, including delivery systems for BMP-2 release. In situ high-resolution X-ray micro-computed tomography (microCT) and digital volume correlation (DVC) were used to qualitatively assess the micromechanics of regenerated bone tissue. Local strain in the tissue was evaluated in relation to the different bone morphometry and mineralization for specimens (n = 2 p/treatment) retrieved at a single time point (10 weeks in vivo). Results indicated a variety of load-transfer ability for the different treatments, highlighting the mechanical adaptation of bone structure in the early stages of bone healing. Although exploratory due to the limited sample size, the findings and analysis reported herein suggest how the combination of microCT and DVC can provide enhanced understanding of the micromechanics of newly formed bone produced in vivo, with the potential to inform further development of novel bone regeneration approaches.
Highlights
Bone tissue possesses excellent healing capacity as a result of the regenerative growth and remodeling process [1,2]
This study aims to investigate the 3D full-field strain distribution throughout the apparent elastic regime in newly regenerated bone tissue produced in a critical size bone defect model following the implantation of different osteoinductive biomaterials, including BMP-2 delivery systems, as well as autografts
The in situ mechanical tests (Figure 2a) demonstrated the distinct response of each specimen under the same applied compression, with stiffness ranging from 131.9 N/mm for Laponite #1 to under the same applied compression, with stiffness ranging from 131.9 N/mm for Laponite #1 to 547.6
Summary
Bone tissue possesses excellent healing capacity as a result of the regenerative growth and remodeling process [1,2]. A number of clinical situations, including high-energy trauma, tumor resection, and musculoskeletal diseases, impair the natural bone-healing process, due to the critical size of the defects to bridge [3,4,5]. Common treatments for critical-sized bone defects include bone autografts and allografts [6]. It is important that biomaterials can provide a balanced ability to mechanically support initial scaffolding in the defect site, while encouraging cells to migrate onto and commence the bone healing process. Bone morphogenetic proteins (i.e., BMP-2) have been shown to play a critical role in bone formation and healing, given their capacity to induce
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