Multiskalen-Reaktion von Knochen auf resorbierbare Implantae

Bio-resorbable tissue replacements have moved into the focus of research in recent years. Particularly promising candidates for bone implants are magnesium-based alloys, whose biocompatibility and principal suitability as implant material have been demonstrated. Since bone is a complex, highly adaptive material and known to react to mechanical stimuli and chemical influences, implant placement and successive degradation can be expected to alter the bone structure, which is also supported by our preliminary results. Nevertheless a detailed study of the multilevel structural changes of bone during degradation of resorbable implants is still missing. This is of greatest scientific interest because it represents a model system for bone response to a continuously changing healing front and changing load situation. It is also of prime importance for future clinical use of bio-resorbable implants and optimization of medical treatment. The main aim of this project is therefore to elucidate the multiscale structural changes in bone caused by a degrading Mg-implant, the correlation of structural changes with changing loading patterns and studying the consequences for the mechanical performance of bone.