Researchers Use Nanotechnology to Engineer ACL Replacements

December 31, 2014

(Medical Xpress) – Ameer and his research team are working to engineer such a product by combining three components: polyester fibers that are braided to increase strength and toughness, an inherently antioxidant and porous biomaterial previously created in Ameer’s lab, and calcium nanocrystals, a mineral naturally found in human teeth and bones. His work is described in the paper “A biodegradable tri-component graft for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction,” which was published in the Nov. 21 issue of the Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine. Eunji Chung, a postdoc at the University of Chicago and former graduate student in Ameer’s lab, was the paper’s first author.