An artificial nanobone, developed by Prof. CUI Fuzhai at Tsinghua University, has recently been granted with a patent issued by the US Patent Office.  The artificial nanobone, approved in November 2002 by the China State Food and Drug Administration for clinical trials, was allowed in March 2004 by the same authorities for trial production as a Grade III transplanting product. As the first nanomedical product sold for clinic applications in China, the nanobone has been used by more than 2,000 patients who suffered bone related diseases. Applications have so far reported no side effects or adverse reaction. The new products have found applications at some 30 hospitals in Beijing, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Liaoning, and Hebei.

Researchers are currently working on other nanobone applications, including injection application (can be injected into body without an operation), enhanced nanobone application (can be used to enhance bone hardness and density), and bone marrow stem cell application that can speed up the healing of wounds.

Nanobone, using nanocrystal glue as basic material, is a new bone material, developed through many-year study of tiered structures of human bone scabs and embryonic bones, and the associated biomineral process. Comparing to a traditional artificial bone, it has a noticeable advantage for making a repaired bone look exactly like a natural bone, leaving no transplanting traces in vivo. Imitating the human bone growing process, the bio-hard tissues, prepared using nanohydroxide phosphorite and glue composites, present a layered multi-pore nanostructure like a natural bone.