Unlimited resources. Scientists have found a way to transplant bone from eggs

Bone grafting is a common way to fill gaps or gaps in bones caused by trauma or surgery. New Atlas writes that about two million different bone grafting procedures are performed each year in orthopedics, plastics, dental and neurosurgery.

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For the manufacture of bone grafts, various materials are used, which can be divided into three groups:

• autologous, in which the patient’s own bone is used;
• allogeneic using donor bone;
• xenogeneic, in which dead bone of another species is used.

Because of their new bone-forming abilities, the first two types of grafts remain the gold standard. However, the third group is still a possible alternative, which depends on the availability of materials of animal origin, which incurs high environmental costs and raises a number of ethical questions.

To create a new, safe and effective xenograft material, scientists turned to the humble product of chicken eggs. During the study, the scientists developed a new method for creating amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) particles from the shell of a chicken egg. Note that this material is necessary for the formation of hard and strong bone and was previously used as a bone substitute because of its components.

According to Qianli Ma, lead author of the study, eggshell is an ideal raw material for the synthesis of bone graft materials, as it contains large amounts of calcium and phosphorus. Moreover, it also contains trace elements necessary for bone regeneration, such as magnesium and strontium.

To create the “eggshell ACPs,” the scientists first heated them at 900°C for 60 minutes to decompose the organic matter and convert the calcium carbonate into oxide. Then calcium oxide was added to the distilled water to form a white slurry, phosphoric acid was added to it, and the ACP precipitate was filtered and immersed in liquid nitrogen after washing with distilled water.

In another experiment, the researchers embedded the ACP particles into a 3D spheroid and analyzed the bone-forming activity of the particles using the interaction of the host bone tissue with the graft materials. The results of the experiment showed that the new eggshell material interacted realistically with the cells that make up the bone. Another important point was:

• they were not toxic;
• immune compatible;
• It is effective in promoting regeneration.

According to Howard Jostein Haugen, co-author of the study, the new method promises to be very promising, as well as its ability to provide an unlimited amount of bioactive and sustainable materials that can be used to create bone vaccines.

Previously Focus He wrote that scientists have developed a unique “biological suit.”