Development of new phosphate/silicate/agarose-based hybrids as bone substitute materials with release function for bisphosphonate drugs

What can't be cured must be endured, however, researchers are trying to change this fact and are aiming to improve and provide new treatment options for a variety of different diseases. One of these diseases are large, so-called “critical size” bone injuries, which cannot heal in the life span of an individual without extensive interventions. One approach to change this is using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) which have shown a great potential for treatment of such conditions. They can differentiate into bone cells and release therapeutic factors in addition. Under specific circumstances however, they can be limited in quantity and they cannot retain their abilities during prolonged lab culture. Recently, the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), for which the Nobel Prize was given in 2012, offered a new approach. These cells can be generated into mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs) in the lab on-demand and are thus providing a possible alternative technique. iMSCs have similarities to MSCs but still little is known about them. In this project, Sarah Shoushrah will discern how similar and effective iMSCs are in comparison to MSCs for future applications in bone repair.