Carbon Nanostructures in Bone Tissue Engineering

BACKGROUND Recent advances in developing biocompatible materials for treating bone loss or defects have dramatically changed clinicians' reconstructive armory. Current clinically available reconstructive options have certain advantages, but also several drawbacks that prevent them from gaining universal acceptance. A wide range of synthetic and natural biomaterials is being used to develop tissue-engineered bone. Many of these materials are currently in the clinical trial stage. METHODS A selective literature review was performed for carbon nanostructure composites in bone tissue engineering. RESULTS Incorporation of carbon nanostructures significantly improves the mechanical properties of various biomaterials to mimic that of natural bone. Recently, carbon-modified biomaterials for bone tissue engineering have been extensively investigated to potentially revolutionize biomaterials for bone regeneration. CONCLUSION This review summarizes the chemical and biophysical properties of carbon nanostructures and discusses their functionality in bone tissue regeneration.