Tendon and Bone Regeneration

Large bony defects, without the potential to be bridged by the organism, must be treated with filling material to supply a structure for new bone formation. The gold standard for defect filling is the use of autogenic bony material. Due to complications associated with the harvesting of autogenic material, allogenic or alloplastic materials might be an alternative grafting material.

To improve materials used for defect filling, the material properties must be analyzed. The group has extensive experience in the analysis of bony materials used for defect filling. They have established a set-up that allows the quantification of growth factors within the bony grafting materials, the in vitro testing of the effect of the materials on different cell types (Fig. 3), and the efficacy testing of the materials in an animal critical size defect model. This approach allows a detailed analysis of existing and newly developed materials.

A further severe complication in bone healing is osteomyelitis and therefore the group aims to develop a prophylaxis and treatment for this complication. Osteomyelitis can be caused by several different bacteria and thus the correct antibiotic must be chosen for treatment. The combination of the adequate grafting material with a specific antibiotic and the optimal dosage and release will be important for a successful therapy (for further information have a look at “Local application”).

The knowledge of the biological processes during bone healing, the local stimulation potential and the analyses of grafting materials can be used for further development and optimization of treatment strategies. Those strategies can be combined to optimize the biomaterials by the addition of bioactive substances to stimulate bone regeneration or treat infections. This research aspect has direct clinical relevance and aims to develop new grafting materials for the stimulation and treatment of different patient-dependent bony defect situations.