Cells
Small Wonders: How Nanotechnology Is Redefining Shoulder and Elbow Surgery
By Alexander Shao‐Rong Pang, Joel Louis Lim, Dinesh Kumar Srinivasan and 1 others.
Abstract
Objective
Nanotechnology has been increasingly incorporated into shoulder and elbow surgery, from bioinductive collagen scaffolds for rotator cuff repair to nanostructured implant surfaces for arthroplasty and nanoparticle-functionalized sutures for elbow tendon repair. This review evaluates the current evidence base for these applications and clarifies which technologies are supported by clinical data versus preclinical/mechanistic evidence alone.
Methods
A narrative review was conducted using PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus (January 2005–September 2026), supplemented by manual screening of society guidelines. Of 1842 records identified, 77 articles and 6 guideline documents met eligibility criteria and directly informed the review. Because of heterogeneity in study design (randomized trials, cohorts, and preclinical models), findings were synthesized narratively.