Clay-enhanced hydrogel promotes bone healing

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Clay-enhanced hydrogel could greatly improve current biomaterial-based therapeutics to repair bone defects, researchers claim.

The new hydrogel has been successfully injected into a mouse where it induced the migration of naturally occurring stem cells to better promote bone healing. Current experimental applications using hydrogels and stem cells introduced into the body or expensive biological agents can come with negative side effects.

The findings from bioengineers and dentists from UCLA are published online in Nature Communications.

According to UCLA, hydrogels are biomaterials that are made up of a 3D network of polymer chains. Due to the network's ability to absorb water and its structural similarities to living tissue, it can be used to deliver cells to defective areas to regenerate lost tissue. However, the small pore size of hydrogels limits the survival of transplanted cells, their expansion and new tissue formation.

One material that has caught on in the field of biomaterials is clay, which has become an additive to medical products with no reported negative effects. It has been shown to be biocompatible and is readily available.

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