New Delhi: A new study has found that a material made from sheep’s wool has helped regenerate damaged bones in rats, and that the newly-formed bone tissue shows a more organised structure than bone grown using conventional collagen membranes.
The researchers at King’s College London developed membranes from keratin, a structural protein found in wool. In tests, the material supported bone growth and produced tissue with fibres more closely aligned, though collagen produced a greater overall amount of new bone.
The findings were reported by ScienceDaily on August 12. They come from a study published in Biomaterials Advances in 2026.
The team, led by Dr Sherif Elsharkawy of the university’s Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, first tested the wool-derived membranes with human bone cells in the laboratory.
The cells grew on the membranes and showed signs of bone formation. The researchers then tested the material in rats with skull defects that were big enough to not heal on their own.
The keratin membranes were designed to remain stable during the healing process and provide a surface on which new bone could develop. Over several weeks, the researchers monitored bone formation around the damaged areas.
Collagen vs Keratin for bone regeneration
The results showed different behaviour for the two materials. Collagen membranes produced more bone overall, but the bone formed with keratin was more organised, with fibres better aligned and a structure closer to healthy bone.
The researchers said the keratin membranes were stable and incorporated with surrounding tissue during the healing process.
“We are really excited to show for the first time how a wool-based material has been successfully tested in a living animal to repair bones,” said Elsharkawy.
The researchers said the findings could also benefit the environment. Wool is a natural renewable material and can be disposed of as a farming byproduct. Turning it into a medical material could therefore provide a new use for a resource, that might otherwise go to waste.
Collagen is widely used for bone regeneration and in dentistry, but researchers say it can be relatively weak, may break down too quickly and can be expensive or complicated to obtain.
The findings are a milestone for research, Elsharkawy said, showing keratin as a possible new class of material for bone regeneration.
However, the research is still at the animal-testing stage. The findings do not show that wool-derived keratin can currently be used to repair human bones. Further studies will be needed to establish its safety and effectiveness before potential human applications can be considered.
(Edited by Aakriti Handa)