• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, August 21, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Lighting up bone repair

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
March 24, 2021
in Biology
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

IMAGE

Credit: Department of Inorganic Biomaterials,TMDU

Researchers led by TMDU fabricate a material that will aid bone healing, help medical practitioners clearly assess the full damage to bones after an injury, and clarify probable patient outcomes

Tokyo, Japan – Bone repair wasn’t generally successful until the late 1800s. Until then, there were few options to repair major bone damage. Most materials don’t have the functionality of bone and don’t support blood vessels growing through them. Repair materials such as clay were commonly used yet often failed. In 1892, medical practitioners started using gypsum–calcium sulfate–as the first effective bone substitute material. Bone repair is much more straightforward and less risky these days, but repairing large-scale bone damage remains challenging.

Medical practitioners today use octacalcium phosphate–OCP–as a substitute bone material. It’s a precursor of bone tissue and a logical choice for bone repair. However, medical practitioners may not be able to unambiguously assess the complete extent of bone damage by X-ray analysis. This may hinder their ability to accurately predict recovery timelines and other prognoses for patients.

In a study recently published in Communications Chemistry, a team led by researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) incorporated a fluorescent molecule–pyromellitic acid–into OCP. When used in clinical practice, this advanced modification to OCP will improve diagnostic analyses and predictions of therapeutic outcomes.

“We incorporated pyromellitic acid by a hydrolysis reaction with dicalcium phosphate dihydrate,” explains Taishi Yokoi, lead author. “Analytical characterization and computational analyses confirmed that we prepared our target material.”

Their synthetic approach avoided formation of undesired salts–calcium carboxylates–that would otherwise hinder the full functionality of pyromellitic acid. By carefully tailoring the pH and pyromellitic acid concentrations during synthesis, the researchers were able to optimize incorporation of pyromellitic acid into OCP.

“We found that 81% of the monohydrogen phosphate in OCP was replaced by pyromellitic acid,” says senior author Masakazu Kawashita. “This is important for pyromellitic acid to help connect different inorganic layers into an intact whole, and facilitate complete repair.”

The researchers’ improved bone replacement material was bright blue, much brighter than pyromellitic acid is when it is not mixed with bone precursors. This opens up obvious possibilities for real-time visual analysis, and will help medical practitioners predict the time course of patient recovery and other diagnostic outcomes.

“Our improved OCP has distinct advantages over conventional bone repair materials,” explains Yokoi. “We’re optimistic that our material can quickly overcome regulatory hurdles and find use in dental implants, bone fractures, and other challenging surgical applications in the coming years.”

###

The article, “Incorporation of tetracarboxylate ions into octacalcium phosphate for the development of next-generation biofriendly materials,” was published in Communications Chemistry at DOI: 10.1038/s42004-020-00443-5

Media Contact
Taishi YOKOI
[email protected]

Original Source

http://www.tmd.ac.jp/english/press-release/20210112-1/index.html

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42004-020-00443-5

Tags: Biomedical/Environmental/Chemical EngineeringBiotechnologyChemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesMaterials
Share13Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

California’s dwarf Channel Island foxes have relatively larger brains than their bigger mainland gray fox cousins, revealing unique island-driven evolution

August 21, 2025
blank

Why Do Some People Age Faster? Study Identifies Key Genes Involved

August 21, 2025

Tidal Forces Spur the Rise of Urban Civilization in Southern Mesopotamia

August 20, 2025

UCF Scientist Validates Genetic Restoration Success in Florida Panthers

August 20, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    141 shares
    Share 56 Tweet 35
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    81 shares
    Share 32 Tweet 20
  • Modified DASH Diet Reduces Blood Sugar Levels in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes, Clinical Trial Finds

    60 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Predicting Colorectal Cancer Using Lifestyle Factors

    47 shares
    Share 19 Tweet 12

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Flexible In-Sensor Computing with Gel-Gated Transistors

Human Feedback Enhances AI-Driven Robots’ Learning Speed and Skill Acquisition

Scientists Harness Electrochemistry to Enhance Nuclear Fusion Rates

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.