PROGRAMMED DRUG RELEASE OF rhBMP-2 FOR BONE HEALING
Non-union of bone fractures can cause pain and disabilities. Amongst certain fracture types, in specific age groups, the incidence of non-union is over 8% in the United States and over 3.6% of all fractures in the UK. Fracture non-unions have lifelong consequences and a debilitating impact in patients’ life. Bone-grafts, allografts and xenograft are currently used to treat bone fractures; however, they have limitations. To overcome these limitations, we herein present a synthetic bone graft substitute composed of PDLLGA and rhBMP-2. We have demonstrated the suitability of this bone graft substitute both in in-vitro and in-vivo models. In the in-vitro model, rhBMP-2 release was sustained for 28 days. In the in-vivo animal studies, the bone graft substitute showed both osteoinductive potential with ectopic bone formation in a rat muscle pouch, as well as osteogenic potential confirmed by the effective bone and mineral formation in a rabbit posterolateral vertebral fusion study.
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