A method by which immune responses to cortical bone grafts and other substrates
(e.g., cement, IPN, etc.) can be minimized and at the same time graft osteoinductive
potential can be improved, and improved graft substrate materials are disclosed.
The method of the invention provides new types of bone grafts that incorporate
into host bone more thoroughly and more rapidly, eliminating long-term complications,
such as fracture, non-union, infection, and rejection. In the method of the invention,
bone grafts or other substrates are modified to have an osteoinductive surface
modification that the recipient's body will accept as its own tissue type and therefore
will not reject or otherwise cause to fail. The osteoinductive surface modification
comprises a biopolymer matrix coating that is seeded with periosteal cells that
have been previously harvested either from the graft recipient or from an allogenic
or xenogenic donor source.
