Researchers from the University of Guadalajara (UG), Mexico, designed a biomaterial capable of regenerating bone after a lesion or fracture. This material combines chitosan, obtained from shell crustaceans, and mineral hydroxyapatite. Its cost is one fifth of what is paid for implants in the market for the same purpose.

The results of the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine study carried out at the UG’s University Center for Health Sciences (CUCS) show that the biomembrane generates bone cells faster than materials coming from bone banks, which imply certain risks and expensive importing costs.

In an interview, Rodrigo Ramos Zúñiga, director of the Institute of Translational Neurosciences of the CUCS, explains that there are injuries to the spine, for example, that require surgical procedures that involve the implantation of materials such as titanium, or other materials that help the bones to be fixed, like nails or screws, and in both examples the costs are high.

“We verified that chitosan polymer and hydroxyapatite were biocompatible with the tissue, but the most important objective was to generate scaffolds to induce a regenerative process. We also identify that it does not induce fibrosis,” said Ramos Zúñiga

In the laboratory, the compound was implanted in a group of rats with spine lesions (experimental laminectomy), to which a lamina made with the biopolymer was placed on the lesion as a scaffold.

Three experimental groups were formed. The first was evaluated at 30 days, the second at 60 and the third at 90 days. In the latter it was found that there was regeneration of new bone, so they followed histological studies and tomography images that corroborated it.

As part of the investigation, a series of tests were carried out to evaluate the flexibility of the sipes with regenerated bone. “We also observed benefits in the biomechanical part by guaranteeing that the implant had a biocompatible design that helped the spines to maintain their normal posture,” says Dr. Ramos Zúñiga.

Dr. Ramos Zúñiga is optimistic about the next stage, testing the biopolymer in humans, which implies a series of rigorous protocols.

The specialist in tissue engineering says that for more than ten years the qualities of chitosan have been investigated for human health, and its combination with the mineral hydroxyapatite has given favorable results that envisage more medical uses for bone regeneration even in the skull.

“Once the compound was obtained, we carried out tests of biocompatibility, resistance, structural analysis, magnetic resonance, and the first report was aimed at those results that supported that it was biocompatible, there was no rejection or toxicity.

“After finishing its function, the biopolymer begins to degrade and only leaves the tissue with the receptor’s cell line induced in the regenerative process. We have evidence that at 60 days the minerals will begin to release calcium and phosphorus that will induce bone formation. At 120 days there are almost no remains or traces of the compound; because, where the scaffolding is, the new tissue began to grow and replaced it.”

Chitosan is a compound that is extracted from the shell of crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs. Its harnessing is not new, and in the international market it is obtained in the form of wafers.

 

Source: La Jornada