Tozzi Gianluca, De Mori Arianna, Oliveira Antero, Roldo Marta
School of Engineering, University of Portsmouth, Anglesea Building, Anglesea Road, Portsmouth PO1 3DJ, UK.
School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science, University of Portsmouth, St Michael's Building, White Swan Road, Portsmouth PO1 2DT, UK.
Materials (Basel). 2016 Apr 2;9(4):267. doi: 10.3390/ma9040267.
Over the past few decades, bone related disorders have constantly increased. Among all pathological conditions, osteoporosis is one of the most common and often leads to bone fractures. This is a massive burden and it affects an estimated 3 million people only in the UK. Furthermore, as the population ages, numbers are due to increase. In this context, novel biomaterials for bone fracture regeneration are constantly under development. Typically, these materials aim at favoring optimal bone integration in the scaffold, up to complete bone regeneration; this approach to regenerative medicine is also known as tissue engineering (TE). Hydrogels are among the most promising biomaterials in TE applications: they are very flexible materials that allow a number of different properties to be targeted for different applications, through appropriate chemical modifications. The present review will focus on the strategies that have been developed for formulating hydrogels with ideal properties for bone regeneration applications. In particular, aspects related to the improvement of hydrogels' mechanical competence, controlled delivery of drugs and growth factors are treated in detail. It is hoped that this review can provide an exhaustive compendium of the main aspects in hydrogel related research and, therefore, stimulate future biomaterial development and applications.
在过去几十年中，与骨骼相关的疾病持续增加。在所有病理状况中，骨质疏松症是最常见的疾病之一，且常常导致骨折。这是一个巨大的负担，仅在英国就估计影响300万人。此外，随着人口老龄化，患者数量预计还会增加。在此背景下，用于骨折再生的新型生物材料不断在研发中。通常，这些材料旨在促进支架中骨骼的最佳整合，直至实现完全的骨再生；这种再生医学方法也被称为组织工程（TE）。水凝胶是组织工程应用中最有前景的生物材料之一：它们是非常灵活的材料，通过适当的化学修饰，可以针对不同应用实现多种不同的特性。本综述将聚焦于为骨再生应用制备具有理想特性的水凝胶所开发的策略。特别是，将详细探讨与提高水凝胶机械性能、药物和生长因子的控释相关的方面。希望本综述能够提供水凝胶相关研究主要方面的详尽概要，从而推动未来生物材料的开发与应用。
