Materials Today d Volume 42 d January/February 2021
thesis that consists in preparing porous
cement with the salt already embedded
within”. The use of cement as a matrix,
with its complex chemical composition
and interactions, can be also useful to fur-
ther understand the long-term behavior of
sorbent composite materials.
Biomaterial approval opens citrate route to medical implants
A medical device made from a biomaterial
reported in the Elsevier journal Biomateri-
als [H. Qui, et al., Biomaterials 27 (2006)
5845–5854; doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.
2006.07.042] has been granted clearance
from the US Food and Drug Administra-
tion. The material can be used in ortho-
pedic implants employed to allow soft
tissue grafts to be attached to bone and
was developed by Guillermo Ameer of
Northwestern University in Evanston,
Illinois, USA, and his colleagues.
This is the first thermoset biodegradable
synthetic polymer to be approved for
implantable medical devices and its
unique chemical and mechanical proper-
ties will make it useful for a wide range of
applications in this area. The material,
known as Citregen, helps with the
healing process by mimicking the body’s
intrinsic biochemical and structural sup-
port network. Fundamentally, the
material protects soft tissue grafts during
Magnetic scaffolds trigger tendon regeneration
Biomimetic polymer scaffolds embedded
with magnetic nanoparticles could trigger
human stem cells to differentiate, stimu-
lating the regeneration of damaged ten-
dons, according to researchers. The team
from 3B’s Research Group at the Univer-
sity of Minho in Portugal, together with
Alicia El Haj at Birmingham University,
designed a polymer scaffold made of a
mixture of starch and poly-e-caprolactone
impregnated with functionalized mag-
netic nanoparticles that can trigger bio-
logical responses in human stem cells
[Matos et al., Acta Biomaterialia 113
(2020) 488–500, doi:10.1016/j.actbio.
2020.07.009].
“Tendon injuries remain a major chal-
lenge for treatment with current
approaches based on surgical repair unable
to restore the original properties of a func-
The team now hope to introduce a sys-
tematic optimization procedure of the base
components of the composite to further
improve the materials, including for water
uptake, heat release, temperature lift and
also reducing cost of the stored energy
while keeping within acceptable stability
insertion and optimizes graft fixation to
bone.
The material is based on elastomeric
polymers based on citrate, specifically
poly(diol citrate). The materials are soft
and can recover from deformation readily.
Citrate can be released from the material
and has natural antimicrobial and anti-
inflammatory. In this context, however,
it is the crucial role of citrate in bone
regeneration where it regulates cellular
metabolic processes and the formation of
mineral structures.
“Citregen is an unprecedented and
innovative bioresorbable biomaterial tech-
nology developed to support the body’s
normal healing process and promote tissue
regeneration,” Ameer explains. “When
used to fabricate devices for the recon-
struction of tissues, such as ligaments,
blood vessels, bladder and bone, results
have been impressive and beyond our
expectations.”
tional tendon,” explain Manuela E.
Gomes, who led the research, and Ana I.
Gonçalves.
NEWS
limits in terms of time and number of
cycles.
Laurie Donaldson
1369-7021/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mattod.2020.11.007
The material has been used to fabricate a
screw system that will be produced and
marketed by Acuitive Technologies. The
NEWS
system can be used to attach soft tissue
grafts to bone. The osteoconductive mate-
rial is gradually absorbed by the body after
surgery, leaving behind a biocompatible
ceramic structure that is then metabolized
by the body so that bulk degradation and
chronic inflammation do not occur as
might be seen with earlier biodegradable
polymers employed in this way, such as
poly-lactides. Ameer has worked on these
semi-synthetic biomaterials for almost
two decades and is pleased to see the out-
put of his pioneering research now
approved for medical applications. The
Citrelock Interference Screw System will
become available through Acuitive’s ortho-
pedic distribution partner in early 2021.
David Bradley
1369-7021/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mattod.2020.11.006
Tendons are the connective tissue
between muscles and bone, vital to the
body’s movement, but are susceptible to
injury and damage. Rather than regenerate
after damage, tendons undergo a repair
process that leads to the formation of scar
tissue, with which pain and the risk of re-
injury are associated. Apart from anti-
inflammatory drugs, physiotherapy or sur-
gery, tissue engineering offers the best –
and only – hope of encouraging the regen-
eration of tendons to avoid these prob-
lems. Tissue engineering strategies for the
regeneration of tendon require scaffolds
that recreate the native tendon environ-
ment, encouraging the differentiation of
cells and supporting the regrowth of cells
into active tissue.
“Using magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs)
and magnetic stimulation, one can remo-