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Injected hydrogel becomes a bone-healing solid when exposed to light | Cells from the adjacent bone tissue gradually migrate into such a material, where they proceed to reproduce as the material harmlessly biodegrades.
Whether they're caused by injury, disease or other factors, missing sections of bone can be quite difficult to replace. A new injectable hydrogel could change that, however, by transforming into a robust bone regeneration material when exposed to visible light.
Another approach involves injecting the material directly into the deficit, in the form of a gel that subsequently hardens into a solid. While this may sound like a better technique, some of these substances take a long time to set, they aren't sufficiently biodegradable, and/or they lack mechanical strength. Created by Prof. Hyung Joon Cha and colleagues at Korea's Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), it's a hydrogel made up of alginate (derived from algae), a bioengineered mussel adhesive protein, calcium ions, a chemical known as phosphonodiol, and a photoreactive agent.
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