Platelet-Rich Plasma and additive manufacturing as a promising alternative to help grow real bone

Abstract

With the increase in life expectancy and growth of urban centers, bone regeneration has become an issue of interest, mainly because it has increased the number of elderly and young people with fractures. Although it is able to regenerate itself in small injuries, there is a necessity to improve therapies able to support the regeneration of large disorders, mainly when a scaffold is required. In this scenario, the development of biomaterials field has a challenge to build a material with properties mirrored of authogenous bone, even considering the biological and physico-chemical characteristics. An alternative already widely used in the treatment of bone injuries is the use of plasma rich plasma (PRP). PRP performs through blood centrifugation and includes various growth factors such as TGF-B, PDGF, IGFI, FGF, EGF, and VEGF, among others, and these factors help in the process of regeneration and repair of repairs. Additionally, the additive manufacturing using bio-printing has aligned the main of those characteristics and emerged as important alternative. In recent years several biomaterials have been associated with PRP in search of better bone performance, such as hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate. Taken this background into account, the main objective of this study is combine hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate with PRP and use 3D bioprinting to construct a new scaffold for bone regeneration. Preliminarily, this strategy has been started in Brazil, at Botucatu-SP, where part of the biomaterials have been produced and characterized. This exchange with New York University will provide us the possibility to perform additive manufacturing using 3D-bioprinting and biological tests using using bone lesions in sheep, as an experimental model, which Prof. Paulo has published with. The supervision will be done by Professor Paulo G. Coelho at NYU. To date, NYU has one of the most extensive research programs in the US, focusing on commitment to collaboration, and Prof. Paulo Coelho is a leader within the field of bone healing using biomaterials as a strategy. Nowadays, Paulo's team has focused on intensifying their skills in bone bioengineering using 3Dprinting technology, and outstanding results have been emerged, delivered by a prestigious international journal. Prof. Paulo's related publications reach over 360 articles and > 6,000 citations. We are sure about the gain with this opportunity, where the fellow Marcel Rodrigues will be in contact with modern methodologies in the bioengineering field, opening new possibilities to our team in UNESP, Botucatu-SP. (AU)