Biphasic Hydrogel Bone Regeneration Composition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current bone regeneration materials are not injectable through reasonable-sized cannulae, requiring surgical approaches due to high mineral content and lack of volume stability, limiting their use in minimally invasive applications for difficult-to-access bone defects.
Innovation Solution
A biphasic composition comprising a cross-linked hydrogel matrix with low mineral content (less than 20%) and a liquid phase, allowing for injectable osteoconductive scaffolding, which incorporates active agents for controlled release and promotes bone formation through in-situ mineralization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high mineral content is used in bone substitute materials, then osteoconductive scaffold formation is improved, but injectability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The material is segmented into two distinct phases: a cross-linked hydrogel phase providing structural stability and a liquid phase providing injectability. This segmentation allows each phase to optimize its function independently while working together as a unified composition.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite material system combining cross-linked hydrogel chunks with liquid phase. The hydrogel provides the osteoconductive scaffold framework while the liquid phase enables flow through cannulae, creating a composite that exhibits properties superior to either component alone.
2Ease of operation
If non-crosslinked hydrogel is used to improve injectability, then volume stability is reduced due to rapid degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The hydrogel is pre-crosslinked before injection to establish structural stability in advance. This preliminary crosslinking ensures that once the material is injected and deployed, it maintains its volume and shape without requiring post-injection stabilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The crosslinking degree and hydrogel chunk size are optimized to achieve the right balance between injectability and volume stability. By controlling these parameters, the material maintains structural integrity while remaining sufficiently flowable for injection through cannulae.
3Stability of the object's composition
If pre-crosslinked hydrogel chunks are used, then volume stability is improved, but osteoconduction is reduced due to dense cross-linking preventing bone tissue entry
Solution Approach 1:
The cross-linked hydrogel chunks provide local structural stability while the liquid phase fills the interstitial spaces to provide pathways for bone tissue infiltration. This local differentiation of functions allows both volume stability and osteoconduction to be achieved simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The cross-linked hydrogel chunks create a porous scaffold structure that maintains volume while allowing bone tissue to penetrate and grow through the interconnected spaces. The porosity is sufficient to enable osteoconduction while the cross-linked structure provides mechanical stability.
4Ease of operation
If mineral content is reduced to less than 20%, then injectability is improved, but mineralization trigger capability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The body's own mineralization processes are harnessed to mineralize the scaffold after injection. The low mineral content material serves as a template that triggers and guides endogenous mineral deposition, eliminating the need for high initial mineral content while still achieving bone formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cross-linked hydrogel scaffold is prepared in advance with optimal porosity and surface characteristics that pre-condition the environment for subsequent endogenous mineralization. This preliminary structural preparation enables efficient bone tissue infiltration and mineral deposition.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables minimally invasive, needle-injectable bone regeneration with excellent injectability and controlled release of bioactive agents, forming a stable osteoconductive scaffold for new bone formation without volume loss, suitable for difficult-to-access bone defects.
Implementation Method 1
volume-stable, cross-linked hydrogel chunks with incorporated mineral (preferably hydroxyapatite or other calcium phosphate) particles
Implementation Method 2
Non-crosslinked natural hydrogels, however, are degraded in the human body within days
Implementation Method 3
this low amount of mineral is sufficient to trigger an apposition of body-own mineral and therefore leads to an in-situ formation of mineralized osteoconductive granules
Implementation Method 4
Its function is to ensure a fast release of the incorporated substances
Data Source
AI summary
The composition for bone regeneration, comprises a) a first phase (3) comprising a plurality of cross-linked hydrogel chunks (1) having a mean diameter of less than 1000 μm and incorporating an amount of mineral particles (2); and b) a second phase (4) comprising a physiologically-compatible aqueous liquid acting as a carrier for the chunks; the chunks being embedded in the second phase (4). The mineral particles (2) have a mean diameter of less than 10 μm and the amount of the mineral particles (2) is less than 20 weight-% of the first phase.