Nails are made of magnesium and elastic for the body well tolerated. Therefore, with their special properties will allow for quick healing of fractures care. With currently available implants can be plates and nails may loosen or even re-break.

Looking through the microscope, it looks as if a Spülschwamm on the object makers. But it is a nail, a surgical nail on magnesium base, Dirk Bormann of the Institute for Materials Science of the Leibniz University of Hanover investigated. The material is, with its special properties in the future as the implant for a quick healing fractures care.

Tibia and fibula were here with a metal plate, screws and a "classic" nail care

"Magnesium is a natural part of the body and thus particularly well-tolerated," says Bormann. The element is fixed and yet elastic. This corresponds to the optimal requirements of a skeleton, the strong pressure and tensile strength must have. A magnesium sponge with a diameter of ten millimeters may weigh around 80 kilograms of pressure. The sponge structure is the inner structure of bone lookalike. Thanks to the porous surface of the implant heals well into the fracture, and bone is quickly back to its own stability.

Currently, in the practice of surgical implants made of titanium or steel in use. "The stabilization of the bone defects succeed temporarily so good," says Hermann Bail, Deputy Director of the Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery at the Charité Berlin. However, if such an implant bone gap not provided sufficiently refilled, you can set up the boards and nails to loosen or even break. Although there is the possibility of missing bone is permanently attached to custom-made metal implants to replace, but even this treatment is guaranteed to leave a long time stability. "For young patients, such treatment is therefore not as well suited," said Bail.

A need for better implant materials also Windhagen Henning, Director of the Orthopedic Clinic of the Medical School of Hanover. He therefore works in the development of materials with the Leibniz University together. "Although we have generally good results with titanium or steel agreement, then unfortunately, these implants are rigid and can not adjust to the healing process," explained Windhagen. Immediately after the onset, they are a good support for bone fracture and relieve the body good. Since a skeleton but a living system, and depending on the load increased, the effective stiff steel and titanium implants with increasing regeneration of the bone rather counter-productive: It grows mostly weaker after. Nor can it order the implants to inflammation, which resulted in the bone even further zurückbildet.

Moreover, the titanium and steel parts after the healing in a second operation again from the bone to be removed. For a permanent stay in the body, they could pressure or allergies feelings. "Our magnesium nails have the great advantage that after the Einheilen with time residue removed from the body," says Bormann. The bone durchwächst the implant, which will be dismantled. From retaining pin remains nothing left. "The bone is quickly charged and after growing stronger," says Windhagen. Brand new, this approach is not: There are already degradable implants from the body - such as lactic acid compounds. However, this is far less durable, such as magnesium.

The sponges made of magnesium, according to Bormann, in particular for the correction fehlentwickelter large bones serve - for example when a patient has severely crooked legs. But even with the loss of bone fragments in an accident or the removal of a tumor could help the porous nails, the bone defect must be in balance.

To date, the good results of the new implant materials to improve, the researchers are working on making the nail pores to fill with drugs. Additional ingredients such as inflammation inhibitors or growth factors for bone cells could Magnesium sponges even more effective, "says Bormann. In five to six years, the implants are ready to go to.