Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The clinical demand for bone grafts continues to rise due to trauma, cancer resections, and age-related degeneration, placing significant pressure on current treatment strategies. Autografts remain the gold standard by providing osteogenic cells, extracellular matrix, and osteoinductive signaling, yet their use is limited by donor-site morbidity, finite supply, and additional surgical burden. These constraints have driven the development of synthetic and bioengineered substitutes. Among them, biohybrid bone grafts, biodegradable scaffolds integrated with growth factors, peptides, or stem cells, have emerged as a promising class that combines structural reinforcement with controlled biological activity. This review examines the biological foundations of bone repair and the pathophysiology of critical-sized defects, outlines the limitations of autografts, allografts, and purely synthetic substitutes, and surveys scaffold chemistries (ceramics, polymers, and composites), delivery formats (blocks, granules, moldable putties, and injectables), and representative commercial products across graft classes. Market analysis indicates that the global bone grafts and substitutes sector was valued at approximately USD 3.20 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 5.68 billion by 2034 (CAGR ~5.9%), with North America leading and Asia–Pacific exhibiting the fastest growth. Advances in 3D printing, injectable composites, peptide- and growth factor–enhanced matrices, and stem cell–based constructs are highlighted as key directions shaping next-generation solutions. Together, these insights underscore the need to integrate mechanical integrity, vascularization, and immunomodulation in scalable, off-the-shelf implants that align with minimally invasive surgical workflows and are adaptable to patient-specific anatomy, positioning biohybrid strategies to redefine the treatment of large skeletal defects.
Authors: Bill Tawil, Kim ., Asher .
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7119501599