09/01/2015
A scientific study conducted with the collaboration of Sabancı University, Anadolu University (AÜ), Atatürk University and Yeditepe University discovered that the use of “boron nitride” may heal broken bones up to 50% faster with no medication or risk of infection.
Dr. Feray Bakan, a researcher at the Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM) said that the project is composed of four six modules and that the work at Sabancı University was focused on advanced material characterization with project code 112M592.
Prior to the project application, Dr. Feray Bakan developed hydroxyapatite-boron nitride composites with varying properties in 2011, and in vitro and in vivo studies on these materials showed a potential for healing fractured bones, which then led to the project application phase. Only 9 projects were chosen to receive support within this call.
Composite materials produced at Anadolu University as part of the project are manufactured according to the composite specifications developed by Dr. Feray Bakan during pre-trials, and the extensive equipment facilities at the Sabancı University Nanotechnolgy Research and Application Center are used for investigating the advanced structural and morphological properties of these materials.
Atatürk and Yeditepe Universities are tasked with medical and biological studies. A Turkish patent titled “The use of the boron mineral and derivatives alone or in combinations with hydroxyapatite for the treatment of bone fractures and coating biomaterials” was obtained in 2012 for the composite material developed during pre-trials.
The study will conclude in 2015.
Feray Bakan
Dr. Feray Bakan received her PhD from the Chemical Engineering Department of Atatürk University. Her dissertation was on “The Production of Nano-Scale Hydroxyapatite for Biomedical Applications.” She received her degree in 2011 and started postdoctoral research in the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at Sabancı University on “The Examination of Surfaces at Atomic Resolutions with Liquid-Immersed Non-Contact Atomic Force Microscopy (nc-AFM)” where she gained experience on advanced characterization techniques for a variety of materials. Dr. Bakan has been a researcher at the Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM) since December 2012. Dr. Bakan works on biocompatible nanocomposites, surface modifications of implant materials for cell development, and biocompatible shape-memory alloys.