Copper-rich glass for bone repair
7 Feb 2019 by Evoluted New Media
A new treatment for osteomyelitis makes use of a copper-rich glass implant to accelerate bone repair, offering an alternative to antibiotics.
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland combined copper particles with a type of bioactive glass, which was then incorporated into a bone repair implant.
The copper-doped bioactive glass in the porous scaffold implant attracts blood vessels and bone cells.
Emily Ryan at the RCSI Department of Anatomy said: “Osteomyelitis is notoriously difficult to treat. Further work on the back of this research could lead to the complete development of a single-stage, off-the-shelf treatment."
The copper ions also prevent bacteria growth, thus the treatment promotes growth without the use of bone grafting.
It also aligns with global anti-microbial resistance strategies – such as the one announced by the UK government last week – by potentially negating the reliance on antibiotics as a form of osteomyelitis treatment.
People can develop osteomyelitis from broken bones, severe tooth decay and deep puncture wounds. Current treatments have a failure rate of up to 30%.
Prof Fergal O'Brien, Professor of Bioengineering & Regenerative Medicine in the RCSI Department of Anatomy, added that the research team is looking to develop and test this treatment for both osteomyelitis and other infections.
“This platform system could be further modified and used to deliver a variety of other non-antibiotic antimicrobial metal ion-doped minerals," he said.
The RCSI’s study is published in Biomaterials.
