A new bone adhesive to fix mandible fractures in New Zealand rabbits: cytotoxicity assay and comparison of bone formation with conventional plate and screw method

Statement of the Problem: 

Using plate and screws as the conventional bone fixation method in maxillofacial fractures leads to many complications as plate exposure, infection or unpleasant feeling on touching. Finding a substitute fixation method has been a far desire for many years.

This study compared the new bone formation using an experimental bone adhesive containing a functional monomer (benzophenone tetracarboxylic di-methacrylate, BTDMA) and the conventional plate and screw in fractured mandibles of rabbit.

This is an experimental animal study. The artificial fractures were induced at the mandibular angles of three male New Zealand rabbits. Screw and plate were used as control and titanium mesh with the resin-based bone adhesive containing 15 wt. % BTDMA monomer were applied as treatment. The mandible radiography were obtained and the density of the fracture line was compared to the control. The newly formed bone was assessed by a microscope.

The results obtained from the MTT cytotoxicity assay showed that 70% of cells were able to grow in the presence of the adhesive. The radiographic density of mesh-adhesive specimens was 119.88±76.29, while conventional plate specimens’ density was 120.38±73.89. The average new bone formation score in the mesh specimens and plate specimens was 3.67±4.62 and 7±4.36, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups. The application of bone adhesive containing 15% BTDMA monomer in a group of the rabbits showed lamellar bone formation.

Using bone adhesives containing BTDMA could lead to a new bone formation with high density in the case of adequate bonding to the fractured area.