Loth and Bayer have teamed with Prof. Iwona Jasiuk of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering on the project, "Novel Biocompatible Bone Adhesion Technology."
The researchers propose developing biocompatible adhesives and composites to bond bone to other bone, repair plates or to help make implants using an original orthopedic adhesion technology. More specifically, they propose to design bio-inspired porous nano-composite bone graft materials fortified with proteins and antibiotics, which can set and cure in moist environment while promoting new bone generation and/or healing.
Traditional approaches in bonding bone to bone or bone to metal or composite usually involve natural or synthetic polymers or cements but typically require use of other fasteners such as screws and/or chemical pre-treatments with corrosive chemicals. The researchers propose a novel approach involving new composite systems consisting of a polymeric matrix and a ceramic reinforcement to provide superior bonding and strength without pre-treatment.
In the future, this research can enable tissue-engineered implants for reconstructive skeletal deformities and cell-based therapies for osteoarthritis and osteoporosis Loth and his group believe. Several different polymer and ceramic combinations will be selected, synthesized to form composites and tested experimentally and theoretically to access the quality and characteristics of the resulting adhesives.
This technology may be of great importance in orthopedics for securing scaffolds and implants as well as in dental applications involving gluing implanted teeth or other implants to bone, which is a multi-million dollar market.
The College of Engineering has selected this project as one of ten proposals for Grainger Program in Emerging Technologies funding. The Grainger Foundation created the program to promote the translation of new academic developments in engineering into commercially viable products and services. It is designed to bridge the gap between traditional funding for basic theoretical research and typical industry funding, which targets already-proven technologies.
Prof. Eric Loth has been a faculty member since 1990 and Dr. Ilker Bayer has been a post-doctoral scientist since January 2008 with expertise in polymers and nano-texture surfaces.