Re-strengthening demineralized bone via tannin-iron crosslinking

Abstract

As the world population continues to age, the social and economic impacts resulting from osteoporosis will continue to rise. New treatments for the disease are needed now more than ever. Using tannin iron complexes we show that thin film deposition of the complexes are not only possible but effective at strengthening demineralized bone. Furthermore we show that by taking advantage of newly discovered tris-complexes that are able to form between tannic acid and ferrous iron ion in solution, the strengthening ability of the film increases dramatically. Specifically, we show that tannin iron tris-complex coating results in a 1062% increase in the flexural modulus for fully hydrated and demineralized bone.