The advances in nanomedicine for bone and cartilage repair

Abstract

With the gradual demographic shift toward an aging and obese society, an increasing number of patients are suffering from bone and cartilage injuries. However, conventional therapies are hindered by the defects of materials, failing to adequately stimulate the necessary cellular response to promote sufficient cartilage regeneration, bone remodeling and osseointegration. In recent years, the rapid development of nanomedicine has initiated a revolution in orthopedics, especially in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, due to their capacity to effectively stimulate cellular responses on a nanoscale with enhanced drug loading efficiency, targeted capability, increased mechanical properties and improved uptake rate, resulting in an improved therapeutic effect. Therefore, a comprehensive review of advancements in nanomedicine for bone and cartilage diseases is timely and beneficial. This review firstly summarized the wide range of existing nanotechnology applications in the medical field. The progressive development of nano delivery systems in nanomedicine, including nanoparticles and biomimetic techniques, which are lacking in the current literature, is further described. More importantly, we also highlighted the research advancements of nanomedicine in bone and cartilage repair using the latest preclinical and clinical examples, and further discussed the research directions of nano-therapies in future clinical practice. Graphical Abstract

Advanced Hydrogels With Nanoparticle Inclusion for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

“…In previous studies, metal and its oxides have shown many unique physical and chemical properties, such as the surface plasmon resonance of gold nanoparticles and the broad-spectrum antibacterial properties of silver nanoparticles, and these characteristics can bring more great properties to nanocomposite hydrogels and expand their scope of application ( Qiao et al, 2022 ). For instance, silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) have superior antibacterial properties and are widely used in anti-infection and implant surface coating ( Barani et al, 2012 ).…”

Polysaccharide-based nanocomposites for biomedical applications: a critical review

“…The obtained nanocomposite supports osteoblast cell growth and osteoblast adhesion along with good mechanical properties. 189 However, without the presence of different nanostructures (organic, inorganic, and polymeric) near the PSA matrix, improving the mechanical features [190][191][192] was completely impossible.…”

Metal-based nano-delivery platform for treating bone disease and regeneration

“…Therefore, strict requirements about the release kinetics of therapeutic molecules are necessary for treating bone infection, inflammation or defect. A few emerging technologies, including tissue engineering material transplantation ( Liu J. Y. et al, 2021 ), stem cell technology ( Shang et al, 2021 ), and nanomedicine ( Qiao K. et al, 2022 ), are potential means to promote the treatment of complex bone diseases. In particular, nanomedicine, based on various nanobiomaterials has significantly accelerated the diagnosis research, treatment, and regeneration of bone diseases, and has obtained numerous achievements ( Chen et al, 2020 ; Hagaman et al, 2021 ).…”