NOVOSIBIRSK, January 18Scientists at Tomsk State University (TSU) are developing a new biocompatible coating for modern implants made of titanium nickelide, which are used to replace bone defects, the university said.
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“The success of integrating an implant into the human body depends on many factors, the main ones being biological and mechanical compatibility with the patient’s native tissues. Along with this, the condition of the patient’s bone in the area where the implant is installed, as well as the localization itself, is important, since the load on bone tissue in our body is not the same everywhere,” explained Kirill Dubovikov, a researcher at the Laboratory of Superelastic Biointerfaces at TSU.
The coating being developed is hydroxyapatite, a phase based on calcium phosphate (the main mineral component of human bone). It will promote the implantation of the structure during the correction of traumatic injuries, even in difficult cases, for example, in patients with osteoporosis. The project is being implemented with the support of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation.
The university noted that the development of a new coating will increase biocompatibility, thereby reducing the risk of inflammation after surgery and the likelihood of implant rejection. The presence of a substance on its surface — the main component of human bone — will stimulate osteogenesis — the appearance of new bone cells. This will speed up the implant healing process and shorten the patient’s rehabilitation time.
«The calcium phosphate compound will increase the chances of successful integration of implants in people with osteoporosis, a disease in which bone density and structure are impaired. The coating is biodegradable. After during the operation to install a replacement structure, it will act as a donor, extremely slowly giving away Ca2+ and HPO42- ions, which stimulate osteogenesis,” Dubovikov said.
Scientists call one of the many advantages of titanium nickelide implants superelasticity — the ability to withstand mechanical deformation of up to eight percent without compromising the structure and strength of the material. This allows the use of implants in areas that experience constant dynamic load, for example, to restore the bones of the chest, which expands and contracts during breathing.
One of the potential areas of application of implants is thoracic oncology. Therefore, work on new designs is being carried out in collaboration with specialists from the Oncology Research Institute of the Tomsk National Research Medical Center. In addition, several leading Russian clinics in different regions have declared their readiness to test and use implants, TSU added.