In a study published in Acta Biomaterialia, researchers in France have developed a self-setting foam that can repair defects in bones and assist growth.
The study was led by Pierre Weiss and colleagues at the University of Nantes.
Here are four things to know:
1. Injectable calcium phosphate cements have been around for nearly a hundred years, and are frequently used in orthopedics and traumatology as bone substitutes during surgery.
2. The researchers applied a sophisticated hydrogen as a foaming agent to create air bubbles in the mixture, creating an effective macroporous, self-setting CPC.
3. The key to the breakthrough was in applying a silanized hydrogel as a foaming agent.
4. Follow-up tests showed that new bone did form at the implant sites with no toxic effects.