Chapter 55 – Bone Regeneration

Bone is among a select few tissues that are capable of regeneration in response to an insufficiency in the body. However, there are limitations to its regenerative potential when the defect is larger than a certain size. In this chapter, we highlight contemporary approaches to bone regeneration and their advantages and limitations. We then exploit a fracture healing model as a prototype for the regenerative process we seek to mimic, and offer stringent performance criteria to provide a framework for the rational design of a new generation of bone regenerative therapeutics. We follow this up with an exploration of recent advances involving various combinations of synthetics, biological factors and cells. Finally, we share our vision for bone regeneration as well as several current research studies that we believe are positive steps towards successful bone regeneration.