Composites of fatty acids and ceramic powders are versatile biomaterials for personalized implants and controlled release of pharmaceuticals

This paper introduces a novel class of resorbable implant materials based on composites of solid fatty acids and ceramic powders. The materials could be 3D printed and cast into implants that consisted of powder particles embedded in a dense and solid lipid matrix. The implants possessed 10x higher compressive strengths than pure fatty acids and their compressive strength, resorption speed and drug release rate could be controlled by varying the fatty acid tail length. The materials supported the attachment and growth of mesenchymal stem cells in vitro and when implanted in a subcutaneous mouse model they were found to be biocompatible and support the formation of cellularized and vascularized tissue in vivo. These results indicate that solid fatty acid/ceramic matrices may be used as a biomaterial for structural implants and controlled release drug depots providing an attractive alternative to the polymer based matrices commonly used for such implants.