An in vitro test method to replace in vivo osteomyelitis models

Orthopaedic implants are used to replace joints and enhance patient quality of life after trauma or disease. However, implant-associated infections threaten the success of such treatments.

For this reason, antimicrobial biomaterials are being developed.Today, antimicrobial biomaterials are assessed in so-called “osteomyelitis models” where the material is implanted in a previously infected bone of an animal.

These experiments are classified as ‘great severity’ by the Swedish ethical committees on animal welfare due to the substantial stress the animals undergo.

Currently, no existing in vitro methods can replace the osteomyelitis model, since their in vivo-correlation is insufficient.This project aims to develop a physiologically-relevant in vitro method to evaluate antimicrobial properties of biomaterials for orthopaedic applications.

The test method will integrate human bone tissue in a microfluidic system where the biomaterial to be assessed can be added after multi-strain bacterial infections have been created in the bone.

The system will provide access to in situ optical read-out and a dynamic environment.We hypothesis that an in vitro test method providing relevant human cytoarchitecture will serve as a reliable replacement alternative to current animal-based osteomyelitis models and it is our ambition to demonstrate technological and biological proof-of-concept during this project together with secured funding for continued system development and technology transfer.