[A biomechanical study on the bone repairing ability of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2-coral...

To improve bone repairing ability of coral, recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2)-coral composited artificial bone was obtained by combining coral with rhBMP-2 in this experiment. The composite was implanted into rabbit calvarial critical-size defects and coral alone was implanted as control. The bone repairing ability was assessed by radiography, histology and biomechanics. The results showed that implants were absorbed gradually after they was implanted into the defects. In the meantime, the new bone was formed and the mechanical strength was reinforced uninterruptedly in bone defect regions. At 12 weeks, the implants were replaced completely by bone, and the mechanical strength was entirely restored. These suggest that the composite possess a superior bone repairing ability and may be one of the most perfect bone graft substitutes currently available.