Pressure-sensitive composite bandages with high toughness, self-healability and strong tissues adhesion for rapid bone fixation and accelerated osteogenesis via immunomodulation and neovascularization

TL;DR

A new bone-adhesive bandage offers strong adhesion, self-healing, and promotes bone healing by modulating immune cells and blood vessel growth.

Contribution

A pressure-sensitive composite bandage that enables active bone regeneration through immunomodulation and neovascularization.

Findings

The POC-G/HA composite achieves strong adhesion (570.43 kPa) and high mechanical toughness (1648.66 kJ m−3).

The bandage promotes stem cell osteogenic differentiation and M2 macrophage polarization.

It supports neovascularization and enables instant bone fixation in humid environments.

Abstract

Bone adhesives have gained considerable interest as an adjunctive approach for fragment fixation in comminuted fractures and bone graft procedures. However, the current adhesives are mostly used to fill the bone void to achieve the fixation of broken bones, which inevitably impedes regeneration at the fracture interface. To address this limitation, we present an integrated bone-adhesive bandage that enables robust adhesion to bone tissue without occluding the healing space. Precise modulation of the viscoelastic properties in a poly(octamethylene citrate)–gelatin (POC-G) copolymer facilitates strong interfacial adhesion to bone but also unique internal cohesion to enable self-heal. Further incorporation of hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles significantly enhances the adhesive strength (570.43 ± 21.82 kPa) while preserving mechanical toughness (1648.66 ± 367.81 kJ m−3). This strategy further renders POC-G/HA composites with the unique ability to achieve instant, repeatable, and sustained bone fixation in a humid environment, addressing a critical limitation of conventional commercial adhesives. Beyond serving as a superior mechanical fixative, this multifunctional bandage actively orchestrates the bone regeneration process. It promotes the osteogenic differentiation of stem cells, modulates macrophage polarization towards a pro-regenerative M2 phenotype, and stimulates neovascularization to enhance local nutrient and cell supply. This breakthrough design of a pressure-sensitive bone-adhesive bandage opens a new avenue for the instant structural integration of bone fragments and the fixation of bone grafts during surgery. It represents a paradigm shift from passive fixation to active regeneration, potentially revolutionizing therapeutic strategies for bone repair.

Image 1

•An integrated bone adhesive bandage with high pressure-sentitive adhesion, mechanical toughness and biological activity.•Immediate, repeatable, and durable fixation in moist environments without compromising the bone healing area.•Stem cell osteogenic differentiation, macrophage polarization toward the M2 phenotype, and angiogenesis.•Clinical applications in fracture fixation and bone reconstruction.

An integrated bone adhesive bandage with high pressure-sentitive adhesion, mechanical toughness and biological activity.

Immediate, repeatable, and durable fixation in moist environments without compromising the bone healing area.

Stem cell osteogenic differentiation, macrophage polarization toward the M2 phenotype, and angiogenesis.

Clinical applications in fracture fixation and bone reconstruction.

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