Bone is a highly complex tissue, which undergo microfracture and repair through everyday loading. It is this ability to repair and regenerate its structure that enables bone to spontaneously repair itself following injury without the formation of scar tissue. However, 5-10% of all fractures do not heal in the desired manner. This can lead to the need for surgical intervention where the most common treatment is a bone grafting procedure. There are an estimated 2.2 million such procedures globally each year, which makes bone the second most transplanted tissue after blood. These procedures have inherent disadvantages which gives rise to a great deal of research in this area to develop viable bone graft substitute materials.
Researchers at the MRI are currently developing a variety of materials which may be used to treat different ailments related to bone including:
- Development of biomimetic bone graft substitutes
- In situ of proteins, peptides and therapeutic agents
- Development of biodegradable polymers with tailored properties and degradation profiles
- Development of artificial meniscus

Funded projects:
Development of Novel Biodegradable Polymer based Composites for Orthopaedic Applications
Summary: This study involves the development of UV curable composite structures, which are designed for the in situ treatment of osteomyelsis. The PI on the study is Dr. Declan Devine and the study is in collaboration with the Instituto de Cerámica y Vidrio (Institute of Ceramics and Glass), Madrid.
Funding Agency: AIT President Seed funding
Duration: 2015 to 2017
Completed projects:
Development of Bioactive Nanocomposites for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications (Nanofact)
Summary: This study involved the development of bio-mimetic scaffolds to enable the in situ delivery and retention of growth factors for the treatment? of bone defects. This study was conducted in collaboration with Harvard Medical Schools Center for Advanced Orthopedic Studies and The Mayo Clinic’s Rehabilitation Medicine Center during Dr. Declan Devine’s Marie Curie Fellowship.
Funding Agency: ERA FP7 Marie Curie Actions (Grant Number)
Duration: 2012-2015
The Preparation of Multifunctional Composite Scaffolds for Use in Bone Tissue Engineering
Summary: During this study a novel method was developed which allowed the covalent binding of active pharmaceutical ingredients into the structure of a polymer based composite. The PI on the project was Dr. Declan Devine.
Funding Agency: AIT President Seed funding
Duration: 2011-2013
Publications
Bone Regeneration Publications
M Canillas, GG de Lima, MA Rodríguez, MJD Nugent, DM Devine, 2016. Bioactive composites fabricated by freezing-thawing method for bone regeneration applications. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys. 54(7):761-773.
EK Kenny, NM Gately, JA Killion, DM Devine, CL Higginbotham, LM Geever, (2016). Melt Extruded Bioresorbable Polymer Composites for Potential Regenerative Medicine Applications. Polymer-Plastics Technology and Engineering, 55(4):432-446.
J.A., Killion, L.M., Geever, L. Grehan, C. Waldron, K. Offaly, J. Lyons, D.M., Devine, M. Cloonan, C.L., Higginbotham, (2014). Synthesis and photopolymerisation of maleic polyvinyl alcohol based hydrogels for bone tissue engineering. J Polym Res, 21, 1-12.
J.A., Killion, L.M., Geever, D.M., Devine, C.L., Higginbotham, (2014). Fabrication and in vitro biological evaluation of photopolymerisable hydroxyapatite hydrogel composites for bone regeneration. J Biomat Appl, 28(8):1274-83.
J.A., Killion, S., Kehoe, L.M., Geever, D.M., Devine, E., Sheehan, D., Boyd, C.L., Higginbotham (2013). Hydrogel/bioactive glass composites for bone regeneration applications: synthesis and characterisation. Mat. Sci & Eng. C, 33(7):4203-12.
J.A Killion, L. M. Geever, D.M. Devine, L. Grehan, J.E. Kennedy, C. L. Higginbotham (2012). Modulating the mechanical properties of photopolymerised polyethylene glycol – polypropylene glycol hydrogels for bone regeneration. Journal of Material Science, 47(18):6577-6585.
John A. Killion, Luke M. Geever, Declan M. Devine, James E. Kennedy, Clement L. Higginbotham (2011). Mechanical properties and thermal behaviour of PEGDMA hydrogels for potential bone regeneration application. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 4 (7):1219-1227.