Biometal bones

In order to improve the quality of life for patients by avoiding secondary operations, researchers led by Professor Karl Ulrich Kainer and Professor Regine Willumeit at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht are developing new biomaterials that are more durable and resilient and that can be better integrated into the body. One example is a process by which the titanium used as a bone replacement is coated with lipids, improving contact with the body’s cells and stimulating bone-cell growth.

Operations can be avoided through the use of biodegradable materials such as magnesium for bone screws. Magnesium dissolves quickly in salt water. In order to slow the degradation process to the required speed in the human body, chemical elements are added to the metal and the production process is adapted accor dingly. Biological compatibility is always the prime concern, and new materials are therefore always tested in a specially constructed bioreactor in conditions resembling those in the human body.

Uta Deffke