Rice U. develops temperature-sensitive gelling scaffolds to
regenerate craniofacial bone
Rice University bioengineers have developed a hydrogel
scaffold for craniofacial bone tissue regeneration that starts as a liquid,
solidifies into a gel in the body and liquefies again for removal.
The material developed in the Rice lab of bioengineer
Antonios Mikos is a soluble liquid at room temperature that can be injected to
the point of need. At body temperature, the material turns instantly into a gel
to help direct the formation of new bone to replace that damaged by injury or
disease.
The gel conforms to irregular three-dimensional spaces and
provides a platform for functional and aesthetic tissue regeneration. It is
intended as an alternative to prefabricated implantable scaffolds.