Nanocomposites as bone implant material

Abstract

The increasing demand for a suitable bone implant material has been forcing researchers to work on various man-made materials that may be used as a suitable replacement for natural bone and are affordable and easy to fabricate. In the past years, although significant efforts have been made in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine to put forward an ideal bone implant, they are far from meeting the real objective. Recent advances in nanobiotechnology in the field of therapeutics hold great promise to achieve the objective of an ideal implant in proper synchronization with tissue engineering. Nanocomposites, a product of synergistic efforts in nanobiotechnology and tissue engineering towards an ideal orthopedic implant, possess enormous potential for use as suitable bone implant material. Along with discussing the existing/conventional bone implant materials and their shortcomings, the main focus of this chapter is to elucidate nanocomposite as a potential next generation bone implant material. In this review, attempts have been made to deliver concise and relevant information about various nanofabrication technologies, characterization of nanocomposites, and their in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility study. Primary investigations support that nanocomposites are an ideal implant material for orthopedic applications; however, substantial developments are still highly needed to put nanocomposites into real practice, where current leanings in nanobiotechnology foreshadow a bright future through the use of nanocomposites in orthopedics. After defining the quest for bone implants, Sect. 26.2 gives a brief introduction to bone, and its structure and composition will be discussed. Section 26.3 gives a description and highlights shortcomings of conventional implant materials, followed by Sect. 26.4 describing the challenges posed by conventional and existing implants. In Sect. 26.5 a detailed study of the possible role of nanotechnology for suitable orthopedic implants are presented. Future perspectives in Sect. 26.6 close the chapter.