Technological watch

Bone has the capacity to repair damage and reproduce itself, but if the defect is too large, a scaffold is needed to promote regeneration. Recently, researchers have developed numerous approaches to promote bone reformation, such as the direct delivery of bioactive molecules, guided tissue regeneration membranes, and creating osteoinduction/osteoconduction surfaces. The surface of a medical device is the first contact area for a biological system; therefore, the interactions between biological fluids and the surface of the implant determine the performance of the implant. Well-designed surface physical and chemical properties, such as topography, net charge, components, and hydrophilicity, enhance cell attachment and proliferation. Various surface modification technologies and methods have been studied to enhance cellular expression. This review selects scaffold materials that are FDA-approved and have been widely used in the clinic and focuses on recent studies of surface modification with hydroxyapatites and collagen, which are the main components of the bone matrix, for the enhancement of bone regrowth.