By Press TV Website Staff

Farhad Bakhshi, an Iranian biomedical engineer, has turned years of scientific research into the industrial production of a material used in bone repair and regeneration.

Bakhshi, 45, a PhD graduate in biomedical engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology and the chief executive of a technology company, has developed a nanotechnology-based calcium supplement using hydroxyapatite, a calcium phosphate material that forms the main mineral component of natural bones and teeth.

His work focuses on bringing the material closer to the structure and properties of natural bone and developing a formulation intended to improve calcium delivery and absorption.

The effort has moved beyond laboratory research and established domestic industrial production of a material with applications in orthopedics and dentistry.

For Bakhshi, however, the project was not simply a matter of developing a new formulation.

It involved years of experimentation, repeated setbacks and the challenge of turning a scientific idea into a commercially viable product.

"The supplement is the result of a long process of working through chemical formulas, during which the team experienced two major failures before making progress," he said.

The outcome, he says, was a nanotechnology-based formulation designed to support bone health and help address problems associated with osteoporosis.

Hydroxyapatite is widely used in bone-related medical applications because of its similarity to the mineral component of natural bone.

Depending on its formulation and intended use, it can serve as a material for bone regeneration and repair.

Bakhshi's work has focused on producing hydroxyapatite in a form suitable for use in a calcium supplement, with nanotechnology playing a central role in the development process.

"Reducing the dimensions of the supplement capsule to approximately one-fifth of those of conventional calcium supplements has made it easier to swallow," according to Bakhshi.

The developers also report improvements in absorption and effectiveness.

The company has also received nanoscale certification for two products: a suspension of magnesium-substituted carbonated hydroxyapatite nanorods and a powder of the same material.

Bakhshi says the company's approach also draws on liposomal technology, a formulation method in which a substance is enclosed within microscopic lipid-based structures.

In pharmaceutical and supplement applications, such systems can be designed to influence how an ingredient is delivered and absorbed.

He points to iron supplements as one example of where formulation can make a difference.

"Conventional iron supplements can cause gastrointestinal discomfort in some people, while certain liposomal formulations may improve tolerability," he explained.

The company initially concentrated on calcium because of the prevalence of osteoporosis and reduced bone density in Iran, Bakhshi noted.

Osteoporosis is often described as a silent disease because it can develop without noticeable symptoms until a fracture occurs.

As bone density declines, even a relatively minor fall can result in a serious injury, particularly among older adults.

The scale of the problem in Iran underscores the importance of prevention, early diagnosis and effective treatment.

Figures cited in Iranian reports indicate that only around 20 percent of people over the age of 50 have normal bone density.

Approximately 30 percent are reported to have osteoporosis, while about half have osteopenia, a condition in which bone density is lower than normal but does not meet the diagnostic threshold for osteoporosis.

The situation is particularly concerning among older women.

Among women over 65, only around five percent are reported to have normal bone density, while approximately 62 percent have osteoporosis and another 33 percent have osteopenia.

Iranian estimates have put the annual number of fractures associated with reduced bone mass at around 150,000, equivalent to approximately 410 a day, with an estimated annual economic burden of $400 million.

Such figures highlight the need for a comprehensive approach that includes adequate nutrition, calcium and vitamin D when appropriate, physical activity, screening for people at risk, and timely medical care.

They also help explain why Bakhshi's company chose calcium supplementation as its initial area of focus.

The developer says the aim was to produce a supplement that could make calcium intake easier while improving the formulation's performance.

A smaller capsule could help address difficulties swallowing larger tablets, particularly among older people.

From a laboratory project to industrial production

Bakhshi's path to industrial production was far from straightforward.

In recounting the early years of the project, he describes facing financial pressure, technical obstacles and uncertainty about whether he could continue developing the technology in Iran.

At one point, the difficulties became so intense that he began considering opportunities abroad.

He recalls telling himself that he would spend another year trying to make the project work in Iran and would consider leaving if his efforts did not produce results.

He had received offers from overseas companies, including an opportunity in the United Kingdom that, according to his account, promised a monthly salary of £5,000, along with a house and a car.

Yet the period in which he was weighing those offers also brought an important breakthrough.

Bakhshi says the National Headquarters for Nanotechnology Development supported his proposal after it was selected from a large pool of submissions.

"Of approximately 1,400 proposals considered through different stages of the selection process, 26 were chosen, and my project was among them," he said.

The support helped the team move forward with its work.

He says the company has also attracted people who previously ran businesses in the United Kingdom and later returned to Iran to work with the team.

For him, their decisions demonstrate that opportunities for innovation and business development exist within the country.

Bakhshi's experience is documented in a book titled Technology of Salvation (Fanavari-ye Nejat), which examines the process of transforming laboratory research on hydroxyapatite into industrial production.

The book explores both the technical and entrepreneurial dimensions of the project, including the difficulties of stabilizing a formulation, scaling up production and maintaining quality standards.

It also addresses the practical challenges of running a technology-based business, from financial constraints and administrative bureaucracy to the transition from scientific research to executive management.

Rather than presenting technological development as a straightforward progression from discovery to success, the account includes setbacks that threatened to derail the project.

Its central theme is that industrial innovation requires more than scientific expertise.

It depends on persistence, management, access to resources, and cooperation among researchers, supporting institutions, and industry.