By Bonnie Prescott -
When a person suffers a broken bone, treatment calls for the surgeon to insert screws and plates to help bond the broken sections and enable the fracture to heal. These “fixation devices” are usually made of metal alloys.
But metal devices may have disadvantages: Because they are stiff and unyielding, they can cause stress to underlying bone. They also pose an increased risk of infection and poor wound healing. In some cases, the metal implants must be removed following fracture healing, necessitating a second surgery. Resorbable fixation devices, made of synthetic polymers, avoid some of these problems but may pose a risk of inflammatory reactions and are difficult to implant.
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This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (EB002520).
“The Use of Silk-Based Devices for Fracture Fixation,” Gabriel S. Perrone, Gary G. Leisk, Tim J. Lo, Jodie E. Moreau, Dylan S. Haas, Bernke J. Papenburg, Ethan B. Golden, Benjamin P. Partlow,Sharon E. Fox, Ahmed M.S. Ibrahim, Samuel J. Lin, David L. Kaplan, Nature Communications, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4385.
Silkworm cocoons could create disintegrating implants to help heal broken bones
