Abstract:
Nanomaterials have been widely tested in vitro and in small order animal studies for decades. Results have shown greater tissue growth, decreased bacteria growth, and inhibited inflammation. However, few, if any, studies exist examining human tissue response to nanomaterials. This study represents a cohort study of nano implants inserted into the spine of over 14,000 patients over the past 5 years. Results demonstrated no cases of infections or other implant failures which is significantly better than statistics on conventional spinal implants which have up to 20% failure rates. This study will further explain that nano implants mimic the natural nano texture of bone itself and possess surface energy that can competitively increase the adsorption of proteins known to promote osteoblast (bone forming cells) functions, decrease bacteria functions, and limit inflammatory cell functions. As such, this study represents one of the few human clinical studies on nano implants.
Audience Take Away:
- Human clinical data for nano implants
- How nano implants can increase tissue growth
- How nano implants can decrease infection without antibiotics
- How nano implants can reduce inflammation
Biography:
Thomas J. Webster’s (H index: 121; Google Scholar) degrees are in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh (B.S., 1995; USA) and in biomedical engineering from RPI (Ph.D., 2000; USA). He has served as a professor at Purdue (2000-2005), Brown (2005-2012), and Northeastern (2012-2021; serving as Chemical Engineering Department Chair from 2012 - 2019) Universities and has formed over a dozen companies who have numerous FDA approved medical products currently improving human health in over 20,000 patients. His technology is also being used in commercial products to improve sustainability and renewable energy. He is currently helping those companies and serves as a professor at Brown University, Saveetha University, Vellore Institute of Technology, UFPI, and others. Dr. Webster has numerous awards including: 2020, World Top 2% Scientist by Citations (PLOS); 2020, SCOPUS Highly Cited Research (Top 1% Materials Science and Mixed Fields); 2021, Clarivate Top 0.1% Most Influential Researchers (Pharmacology and Toxicology); 2022, Best Materials Science Scientist by Citations (Research.com); and is a fellow of over 8 societies. Prof. Webster is a former President of the U.S. Society For Biomaterials and has over 1,350 publications to his credit with over 55,000 citations. He was recently nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
