The advances in nanomedicine for bone and cartilage repair

With the gradual demographic shift toward an aging and obese society, an increasing number of patients are suffering from bone and cartilage injuries. However, conventional therapies are hindered by the defects of materials, failing to adequately stimulate the necessary cellular response to promote sufficient cartilage regeneration, bone remodeling and osseointegration. In recent years, the rapid development of nanomedicine has initiated a revolution in orthopedics, especially in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, due to their capacity to effectively stimulate cellular responses on a nanoscale with enhanced drug loading efficiency, targeted capability, increased mechanical properties and improved uptake rate, resulting in an improved therapeutic effect. Therefore, a comprehensive review of advancements in nanomedicine for bone and cartilage diseases is timely and beneficial. This review firstly summarized the wide range of existing nanotechnology applications in the medical field. The progressive development of nano delivery systems in nanomedicine, including nanoparticles and biomimetic techniques, which are lacking in the current literature, is further described. More importantly, we also highlighted the research advancements of nanomedicine in bone and cartilage repair using the latest preclinical and clinical examples, and further discussed the research directions of nano-therapies in future clinical practice.