Biologically inspired synthesis of nanocomposites for bone tissue regeneration

Recently the replacement of bone tissue by graft materials and products of tissue engineering with composition, structure and biological features very similar to natural tissue is the main topic of research in biomaterials. A biomimetic synthesis has been performed to prepare new bone like composites constituted of hydroxyapatite nanocrystals and self-assembled type 1 collagen fibers. We have used a biological inspired approach which proves that the biological systems store and process information at the molecular level. Direct nucleation of hydroxyapatite (HA) into reconstituted collagen fibers during their assembling was employed. The new preparation technique was experimented then the composites thoroughly characterized and compared : composites showed an intimated interaction of the inorganic and proteic components which modified the apatitic phase and made its composition, morphology and structure similar to the mineral component of natural bone.