Nanobone Material Activates Natural Repair Signals to Regrow Bone

Cleft lip and palate is a birth defect that affects about 1 in 700 children and occurs when parts of the upper lip or roof of the mouth do not fully fuse during pregnancy. Repairing the resulting jawbone gap often requires invasive bone grafting at 10 to 12 years of age, with lasting effects on speech and self-confidence. Surgeons have had few alternatives for decades. To help address this challenge, University of Sydney researchers have developed a biodegradable “nanobone” material intended to prompt the body to regrow bone.

The biodegradable nanobone is a calcium‑aluminosilicate nanomaterial created at the University of Sydney’s School of Dentistry with contributions from the Charles Perkins Centre and Sydney Nano, in collaboration with the University of Queensland. The study was published in ACS Nano in 2026. The approach aims to provide a future alternative to grafts that have changed little in more than 50 years and often require harvesting autologous bone.

The material is designed to teach the body to heal itself. Instead of supplying manufactured growth factors, it activates latent transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF‑β1) that is already present in tissue. This activation recruits bone‑forming stem cells to the defect and supports their maturation into bone‑producing cells. The nanomaterial also promotes rapid blood clotting in about 30 seconds, which helps stabilize the site in the earliest phase of repair.

In a preclinical bone model, the nanobone generated approximately 80 percent more new bone than a material control after eight weeks. It also increased activation of a key bone‑repair growth factor to about 10 times the level achieved with conventional methods. The authors note that more than four million bone repair procedures are performed globally each year, underscoring the scale of the clinical need.

According to the investigators, this is the first demonstration of a single nanomaterial platform that combines rapid hemostasis, activation of endogenous growth signals, stem‑cell recruitment, and enhanced bone regeneration. While further testing is required before human trials, potential applications could extend beyond cleft lip and palate to traumatic injuries, tooth loss, and other difficult‑to‑repair defects. The team is also exploring integration with personalized three‑dimensional printed scaffolds tailored to individual patient anatomy.

“The material activates dormant repair signals in the body, triggering a cascade of healing processes that attract bone-forming stem cells and stimulate new bone growth,” said Associate Professor Chun Xu, Sydney Horizon Fellow in the Faculty of Medicine and Health.

“Every patient is different and every bone defect is different. In the future, we hope to combine these materials with advanced 3D-printing technologies so treatments can be tailored to the specific needs of each patient,” added Prof. Xu.

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University of Sydney’s School of Dentistry