Objectives:
the development of new surgical methods and techniques adapted to the needs of bionanostructures with multifunctional properties, obtained by specific methods of molecular or colloidal auto-assembly.
| OBJECTIVES |
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| DESCRIPTION | The goal of surgery and treatment of bone cancer and of bone metastases is the palliation of pain, the prevention of the development of pathological fractures, the improvement of the mobility and function of the bone system and increase of life quality. Modalities of treatment include the combination of anti-cancer therapies (surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, particularly with cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin and taxol) and of therapies for the regeneration of the bone system, by the use of investigation and interventional techniques and methods based on molecular and cellular medicine. Since bone represents a typical example of natural nanocomposite, the orthopedic research in this project will develop new strategies regarding the engineering of bone tissue, using nanobiomaterials with controlled structure and properties, which should fit the physical and chemical characteristics of the physiological bone. While these last years some progress has been reported in the field of nanobiotechnology, extensive research at molecular and cellular level is still necessary in order to understand physical and chemical phenomena characteristic for the interface between physiological bone, nanobiomaterials and surgical implant. The expected results will lead to the development of new nanobiomaterials and theoretical models in biomechanics and bioinformatics, aimed to support the efforts of developing new surgical techniques, adapted to orthopedic necessities and for a reasonable cost. Fundamental research and deepening of interaction mechanisms for protein, particularly collagen, with the bone matrix, artificially created from nanobiomaterial, with or without surgical implants, is important in this project. The results of the research will open new strategies to approach and understand the bone cells adhesion (for instance osteoblasts – which are the bone forming cells) on the artificial bone matrix, an essential problem in the stage of osteosynthesis and integration in the physiological bone system. The multidisciplinary collaboration organized in the consortium (i.e. three universities and two research units) in this project warrants for the best results in the effort directed to the improvement of health, of life quality of the patients presenting various osteo-articular lesions. The orthopedic surgeon, the oncologist, the radiation oncologist, the specialist in physical chemistry of the drug and of anti-cancer drug delivery systems, and the bio-computer scientist must all be involved in specific steps of the project, without forgetting the importance of psychotherapy. The objectives of the present project are aimed to the development of new surgical methods and techniques adapted to the needs of bionanostructures with multifunctional properties, obtained by specific methods of molecular or colloidal auto-assembly. These bionanostructures present a high interest in orthopedic surgery and treatment of both bone cancer and bone metastases, and osteo-articular lesions. The nanobiostructures should contain collagen with or without another polymer, nanostructured hydroxyapatite, anticancer drugs (cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin or taxol), bio compounds for drug transport, e.g. betacyclodextrines or lipids, some peptides (e.g. growth factors), bisphosphonates or calcium phosphate, and several auxiliary ingredients (deferroxamine, anti-inflammatory compounds, antibiotics or anti-oxidants). The bionanostructures are selectively and specifically designed and obtained for the treatment of bone affections and in view to bone regeneration They are also destined to improve the cancer therapy and to reduce the secondary effects of anti-cancer compounds. In order to characterize these bionanostructures, various modern techniques and methodologies are used, e.g. measurements of advanced spectroscopy, UV-Vis, IR, FT-IR and NMR, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), the interfacial auto assembly Langmuir-Blodgett technique (LBT), X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy methods: scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy, e.g. scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), circular dichroism (CD), and calorimetry (differential scanning calorimeter, DSC). |
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