Acrylic Bone Cements: The Role of Nanotechnology in Improving Osteointegration and Tunable Mechanical Properties

Abstract

Nanotechnology is an extremely powerful emerging technology, which is expected to have a substantial impact on biomedical technology, especially in tissue engineering and drug delivery. The use of nanocompounds and nanoparticles in the synthesis of improved bone cements to be applied in vertebroplasty/kyphoplasty and arthroplasty, is of great interest due to the increasing incidence of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. This review reports new advances in the development of acrylic bone cements, using different radio-opalescent nanomaterials taking into consideration their influence on the mechanical behavior and biocompatibility of the resulting acrylic bone cement. Furthermore, other non-radiopaque nanoparticles capable of mechanically reinforcing the bone cement as well as induce osteointegration, are also reviewed. Additionally, nanoparticles used to improve the controlled release of antibiotics contained in acrylic bone cements are briefly described.