Plastic bones patch

British experts have created a material that blends three types of plastics, which are likely to be the ideal scaffolding for broken bones to grow.

New resins can support healthy bones

Professor Richard Oreffo of the University of Southampton and colleagues say the resin mixture has a honeycomb structure that allows living cells to 'crawl' while blood cells can penetrate it.

The Oreffo team tested new resins in rats with thighs.

They placed the plastic frames on the hole and watched bone growth for 4 to 8 weeks.

When scaffolds are 'nursed' by human stem cells, the bones heal faster, but without stem cells, rat bones still begin to fill the structure of the scaffold, according to a report in Advanced Functional Materials.

In humans, the structure may play a role in the bone in serious injuries, it is difficult to heal without intervention.

In fact, if there is enough time, new material will slowly decompose completely inside the body in a harmless way.