Oxidation-responsive, settable bone substitute composites for regenerating critically-sized bone defects
Reinaldo L. Dos Santos, Asrar Ahmed, Brooke E. Hunn, Adolphus E. Addison, Dylan W. Marques, K Bruce, John R. Martin
Abstract
-curing bone substitutes. The polymeric component was formulated from a thioketal (TK) dithiol linker and a tri-functional epoxy to facilitate rapid crosslinking upon deployment. To enable biologically-responsive implant resorption, the TK unit is specifically cleaved by cell-produced reactive oxygen species (ROS). TK bone substitutes possessed tunable curing and mechanical properties, were selectively degraded in dose-dependent concentrations of ROS, were non-cytotoxic, and demonstrated significantly greater bone regeneration capacity than PMMA in a critically-sized rat skull defect model. These combined results highlight the therapeutic potential of cell-degradable bone void fillers compared against conventional polymeric bone implants.