Polymer coating for metal prosthetics

Steel prosthetics for the hip, jaw, knee and tooth can fail if they do not promote bone growth to hold them in place.  To answer this problem, as others have done, researchers in Spain have found a better polymer adhesive.  “Designed to be applied to the surface of titanium prostheses, the polymer coating incorporates a fragment of a protein known as fibronectin. It is produced by the body naturally, and it triggers the cells in the adjacent bone tissue to reproduce, growing their way into the coating.  More specifically, the fibronectin fragment is called the RGD domain, and it consists of three amino acids – arginine, glycine, and aspartate. The RGD molecules serve as anchoring points for hook-shaped bone cell proteins known as integrins. These not only secure the adjacent bone tissue to the prosthesis, but they also communicate with the cell itself, telling it to reproduce and to adhere to the coating.”   MORE

Image Credit:  University of Malaga and NBIC+