Bone Research Unit

Research highlights

A major goal of our research efforts is the identification of inorganic non-immunogenic carriers with defined geometries capable of delivering BMPs in the absence of the collagenous matrix.

One contribution demonstrated that the biological activity of BMPs could be restored by absorbing them onto specific configurations of porous hydroxyapatites.

More significantly, we have demonstrated that the geometry and surface characteristics of the porous substrata play a critical role in bone formation. This has resulted in the construction of osteogenic delivery systems (now patented) using liquid chromatography to absorb BMPs/OPs onto a variety of carriers.

Development of porous ceramics with intrinsic osteo-inductive activity
In earlier experiments, we described the remarkable phenomenon of spontaneous osteogenesis in porous hydroxyapatite when implanted extra-skeletally in baboons (world first). This has led to the formulation of a novel concept in biomaterial technology, that porous bone substitutes with intrinsic osteo-inductive activity.

Experiments are now in progress to investigate spontaneous bone formation in porous hydroxyapatite in primates. This phenomenon has suggested that BMPs/OPs may be circulating, or locally produced.

This body of work indicates that endogenously regulated mechanism(s) for initiating bone differentiation in primates can be exploited in bioassay substrata and delivery systems for potential replacement therapies (SA and US patents).

Which molecular and cellular signals initiate this apparently unique endogenously-regulated mechanism of bone formation? Our data indicate that the geometry and surface characteristics of the porous substratum are of cardinal importance for bone differentiation to occur - a phenomenon which this laboratory has defined as geometric induction of bone formation.