DEVELOPMENT OF BIOPORE BIODEGRADABLE DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR BONE-INDUCTIVE PROTEINS AND GROWTH FACTORS

CRANIOFACIAL INJURIES, EITHER CONGENITAL OR ACQUIRED, ARE A MAJOR CAUSE OF DISFIGUREMENT AND LOSS OF FUNCTION. THEY ACCOUNT FOR A SIGNIFICANT FRACTION OF WARTIME CASUALTIES AND OF CIVILIAN INJURIES FROM MOVING VEHICLE ACCIDENTS. CONGENITAL CRANIOFACIAL DEFECTS OCCUR IN CLEFT-PALATE AND ALVEOLAR-CLEFT DEFORMITIES. A FEW DEFECTS ARE ALSO CREATED BY TUMOR RESECTION. RECONSTRUCTION OF CRANIOFACIAL DEFECTS IS BY REPLACEMENT OF THE MISSING BONE STRUCTURE WITH AUTOGENEOUS GRAFTS OR ALLOGENEIC BANK BONE, FOLLOWED BY DENTAL RECONSTRUCTION TO RESTORE THE APPEARANCE AND FUNCTION OF THE PATIENT. AUTOGENEOUS BONE GRAFTS HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH CONSIDERABLE POSTOPERATIVE PROBLEMS FOR THE PATIENT. ALLOGENEIC BONE GRAFTS SUFFER FROM SEVERAL DRAWBACKS INCLUDING INSUFFICIENT SUPPLY OF DONOR BONE, THE POSSIBILITY OF TRANSMISSION OF PATHOGENS SUCH AS HEPATITIS B OR HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV). DEMINERALIZED BONE MATRIX, ALTHOUGH SUCCESSFUL, DO NOT PROVIDE IMMEDIATE STRUCTURAL STABILITY OR ABILITY TO SUPPORT SOFT TISSUE. SYNTHETIC AND NATURALLY OCCURRING POLYMERS, CERAMICS, AND METAL IMPLANTS HAVE ALSO BEEN USED, BUT UNLIKE BONE GRAFTS THEY DO NOT PROMOTE BONE REGENERATION. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF UTILIZING BIOTEK'S BIODEGRADABLE POLYMERIC MATRIX "BIOPORE" FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPOSITE SYSTEM FOR CRANIOFACIAL RECONSTRUCTION THAT DELIVERS BONE INDUCTIVE PROTEINS AND GROWTH FACTORS. THE BIOPORE SYSTEM SELECTED FOR THIS PROJECT WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR USE IN MAXILLOFACIAL RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY TO PREVENT SOFT TISSUE COLLAPSE, PROVIDE A MATRIX FOR BONE REGENERATION, AND TO DELIVER A SUSTAINED DOSE OF OSTEOGENIN BONE INDUCTIVE PROTEIN. GROWTH FACTORS CAN BE ADDED TO THE MATRIX TO ACCELERATE OSTEOGENESIS.