Development of silk surgical implants to form broken bones

2014/03/11 Jauregi Larretxea, Oihana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza
• Ingeniaritza

Researchers at Tufts University in the United States have developed silk-based surgical implants; using pure silk proteins from the silk finger cathodes, they have made plates and surgical screws.

In the treatments of formation of broken bones, the union of the pieces of bone and the healing of the fracture require the use of screws and plates by the doctors and, in most cases, of metallic alloys. But metals have some drawbacks: because they are rigid they can cause pressure on the bones and cause infections. In many cases, in addition, when the bones are formed, it is necessary to remove the implant through a new operation.

Silk implants have given better results than those of metallic alloy in the process of healing bone lesions. Another very useful feature is that, unlike metallic ones, the body absorbs over time, thus avoiding the need for a new operation and its elimination.

“The structures of the silk and bone protein are similar. The silk materials are very strong, keep the structure stable at high temperatures. Other extreme and easily sterilizable situations,” says researcher Samuel Lin of the medical center Beth Israel Deaconess.

The implantation tests were performed by researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess medical center and the engineering school at Tufts University. And the results of these research have been published in the journal Nature Communications. The first tests were performed in a laboratory, in vitro. Then they worked with the rats, they were placed 28 screws of silk.

“None of the implants we had failed,” explains researcher David Kaplan, a biomedical engineering expert at Tufts University.

“Another of the main advantages of silk is the possible incorporation of bioactive components. These plates and silk screws can contain antibiotics to prevent infections and improve bone regeneration,” explains researcher David Kaplan.

One of the main objectives of the research was the use of silk screws to treat facial lesions. However, they can be used to form very diverse bone fractures.