Artificial implants soon a thing of the past?
WA’s Murdoch University’s Nanotechnology group are working on creating a substitute similar to bone, which could make artificial implants a thing of the past.
The mineral powder made from the main component of bone, a ceramic called hydroxyapatite, can be moulded into any shape, and because they are made of a substance already recognised by the body they are accepted faster than traditional substitutes.
The nanohydroxyapatite can also be dosed with antibiotics so it has a stronger chance of being accepted by the body with reduced possibility of infection.