Tissue engineering of bone

Autogenous bone grafting is considered to be the standard of treatment for the management of bone defects. By 2004, over 1.5 million of these procedures will be performed per year to treat various craniofacial disorders such as missing alveolar bone in cleft palates and orthopedic conditions such as fractures and nonunions.1 Several shortcomings are experienced with this procedure, including difficulties in shaping the graft to fill the defect, the requirement for numerous procedures, lengthy recovery times, and donor site morbidity.2-4 These limitations have prompted the use of alternate graft materials such as allogenic bone. However, despite its ready availability, the risk of disease transmission, loss of biologic and mechanical properties, and increased cost have limited its use.5.