Experts have welcomed the first clinical application of citrate-based biomaterial marking a milestone in regenerative engineering.
A bone regeneration device using bioactive materials, developed by the Querrey Simpson Institute for Regenerative Engineering at Northwestern University (QSI RENU), was recently used in its first surgical case.
Known as Citregraft, the technology comprises citrate-based polymers and bioactive glass.
A highly porous, synthetic bone graft substitute, it can be morselised to fit irregular defects.
After placement in a bony void, Citregraft binds local growth factors and steadily releases citrate to support bone regeneration, then resorbs and is replaced by the patient’s natural bone.
In its inaugural surgical use, the sponge-like material repaired bone tissue harvested during an ACL reconstruction of the knee.
The device recently received FDA approval and is part of Acuitive Technologies’ CITREGEN range.
Dr Guillermo A Ameer, the Daniel Hale Williams Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern Engineering and a professor of surgery at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, said: ‘Twenty years after the first report of citrate-based polymers, we now see another major milestone: the use of our biomaterial technology to develop a citrate-based bioactive scaffold to regenerate bone tissue in patients.
‘This builds on our success and broadens the impact our biomaterial technology and collaboration with Acuitive Technologies have had on medical devices that regenerate musculoskeletal tissues.
‘I am very proud of our research team members, past and present, who have contributed to the development and applications of citrate-based biomaterials. I am humbled to see that the influence of our publications extends beyond academic research, being validated by industry, and now improving patients’ lives.’
