Applications of Calcium-Based Nanomaterials in Osteoporosis Treatment

Abstract

With rapidly aging populations worldwide, osteoporosis has become a serious global public health problem. Caused by disordered systemic bone remodeling, osteoporosis manifests as progressive loss of bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, increasing the risk of fractures and eventually leading to osteoporotic fragility fractures. As fracture risk increases, antiosteoporosis treatments transition from nonpharmacological management to pharmacological intervention, and finally to the treatment of fragility fractures. Calcium-based nanomaterials (CBNMs) have unique advantages in osteoporosis treatment because of several characteristics including similarity to natural bone, excellent biocompatibility, easy preparation and functionalization, low pH-responsive disaggregation, and inherent pro-osteogenic properties. By combining additional ingredients, CBNMs can play multiple roles to construct antiosteoporotic biomaterials with different forms. This review covers recent advances in CBNMs for osteoporosis treatment. For ease of understanding, CBNMs for antiosteoporosis treatment can be classified as locally applied CBNMs, such as implant coatings and filling materials for osteoporotic bone regeneration, and systemically administered CBNMs for antiosteoporosis treatment. Locally applied CBNMs for osteoporotic bone regeneration develop faster than the systemically administered CBNMs, an important consideration given the serious outcomes of fragility fractures. Nevertheless, many innovations in construction strategies and preparation methods have been applied to build systemically administered CBNMs. Furthermore, with increasing interest in delaying osteoporosis progression and avoiding fragility fracture occurrence, research into systemic administration of CBNMs for antiosteoporosis treatment will have more development prospects. Deep understanding of the CBNM preparation process and optimizing CBNM properties will allow for increased application of CBNMs in osteoporosis treatments in the future.

Unlocking the potential of amorphous calcium carbonate: A star ascending in the realm of biomedical application

“…However, existing clinical approaches for bone reconstruction, whether involving metal alloys and ceramics or autologous and allogeneic bone grafts, have not met the desired outcomes 178 , 179 . CaCO 3 has promising advantages in the treatment of osteoporosis due to its biocompatibility, affinity for natural bone, ease of functionalization, low pH-responsive depolymerization, and inherent bone-repairing properties 180 . Moreover, the field of tissue engineering has seen extensive interest in nanotechnology 181 , 182 .…”

Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Osteoporosis

“…Calcium-based nanomaterials used not only as locally applied approaches, such as implant coatings and filling materials for osteoporotic bone regeneration, but also as preparations for antiosteoporosis treatment are perspective treatment strategy for delaying osteoporosis progression due to their pro-osteogenic properties [180].…”

Inflammatory microenvironment regulation and osteogenesis promotion by bone-targeting calcium and magnesium repletion nanoplatform for osteoporosis therapy

“…It is worth noting that when osteoporosis occurs, there is already a severe calcium deficiency in the bone tissue, and the anti-osteoporosis effect of only magnesium supplementation is limited [ 19 ]. Calcium-based nanomaterials can be used as calcium sources in supplements to boost osteogenesis, making them a promising choice for addressing age-dependent calcium deficiency in the osteoporotic microenvironment [ 20 ]. Among them, calcium fluoride is one of the luminescent substrates of upconversion nanoparticles, which has been paid extensive attention in the fields of diagnosis and treatment [ 21 , 22 ].…”