Broken bones mended with a silk implant

Implantable patches of silk have been developed to help broken bones heal faster.

as the patches have a porous, sponge- like structure, they are easy for cells called chondrocytes to stick to.

these cells are crucial for bone healing — they produce a protein called collagen, which helps knit together broken bones. the more of these cells there are at the site of the break, the more collagen they produce and the quicker the bone heals, say scientists at the Indian Institute of technology, whose research has appeared in the journal aCS applied materials and Interfaces.

the patches are now to be tested on goats and sheep.