Mineralized Collagen: Rationale, Current Status, and Clinical Applications

Abstract

This paper presents a review of the rationale for the in vitro mineralization process, preparation methods, and clinical applications of mineralized collagen. The rationale for natural mineralized collagen and the related mineralization process has been investigated for decades. Based on the understanding of natural mineralized collagen and its formation process, many attempts have been made to prepare biomimetic materials that resemble natural mineralized collagen in both composition and structure. To date, a number of bone substitute materials have been developed based on the principles of mineralized collagen, and some of them have been commercialized and approved by regulatory agencies. The clinical outcomes of mineralized collagen are of significance to advance the evaluation and improvement of related medical device products. Some representative clinical cases have been reported, and there are more clinical applications and long-term follow-ups that currently being performed by many research groups.

Osseointegration effect of biomimetic intrafibrillarly mineralized collagen applied simultaneously with titanium implant: A pilot in vivo study

“…We have previously reported on the fabrication of hierarchical, intrafibrillarly mineralized collagen with distinct nanostructures mimicking the natural bone for use in bone tissue engineering according to the principle of a biomimetic strategy (Feng et al, ; Lian et al, ; Liao, Cui, Zhang, & Feng, ; Xu et al, ; Zhang et al, ). IMC materials have shown impressive promoting effects on osteogenic differentiation and bone regeneration both in vitro and in vivo in studies by our group and others (Feng et al, ; Fu et al, ; Lian et al, ; Liu et al, ; Qiu et al, ; Xu et al, ; Zhang et al, ), suggesting that IMC may be an ideal bone scaffold material in bone tissue engineering. Therefore, we propose that the use of IMC with a titanium (Ti) implant placed simultaneously may be a promising strategy for jawbone defect reconstruction that avoids the donor site morbidity associated with the use of autografts and provides immediate improvement in dental function.…”

“…The difference in new bone formation may be due to differences in the nanostructures of IMC and EMC. Unlike EMC, which is fabricated by a conventional crystallization method and lacks a surface chemistry and nanostructure similar to that of bone extracellular matrix (Hu et al, ; Liu et al, ), IMC is fabricated via a biomimetic strategy to achieve properties that mimic those of native bone (Feng et al, ; Lian et al, ; Liao et al, ; Qiu et al, ). IMC can promote nutrient transport, blood vessel ingrowth, and osteogenic cell migration throughout the scaffold (Liao et al, ; Liu et al, ).…”

“…The EMC can only produce similar chemical properties but not the surface chemistry and nanostructure of bone extracellular matrix; therefore, the strength of EMC is insufficient. Intrafibrillar mineralization (IMC) has been shown to be a predominant factor to the biomechanics of natural bone, and thus, synthesis of mineralized collagen with intrafibrillar HA is recognized as a crucial factor for imitating bone extracellular matrix (Feng et al, ; Fu et al, ; Lian et al, ; Liu et al, ; Qiu et al, ; Xu et al, ; Zhang et al, ). We have previously reported on the fabrication of hierarchical, intrafibrillarly mineralized collagen with distinct nanostructures mimicking the natural bone for use in bone tissue engineering according to the principle of a biomimetic strategy (Feng et al, ; Lian et al, ; Liao, Cui, Zhang, & Feng, ; Xu et al, ; Zhang et al, ).…”

Elucidation of differential mineralisation on native and regenerated silk matrices

“…The SAED images indicated a polycrystalline diffractogram for braided structures [34] (Figure 10) with preferential orientation extending along the c-axis, as also confirmed from the values of intensity ratio (Figure 6). This preferential orientation of the deposited crystals along the c-axis of the template is a typical feature of calcium phosphate noted in human bone and dentin where the c-axes of HA crystals align parallel to longitudinal axis of type I collagen fibrils [44]. This was further confirmed from the Scherrer Equation for XRD suggesting that HA crystal formed on braids was located on the template surface ( Figure 6) with high probability of (002) crystal face matching well with spatial configuration of the fibroin template.…”

Comparison of rabbit rib defect regeneration with and without graft

“…Eight healthy New Zealand white rabbits (age ~150 ± 7 days old, weight ~3.0–3.5 kg) were provided by Laboratory Animal Center of Shandong University [permission No.SCXK (Lu) 20150001]. MC bone materials were provided by the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Tsinghua University [12, 18]. Experimental protocols complied with Regulations for the Administration of Affairs Concerning Experimental Rabbits, formulated by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.…”