Composite bone substitute materials based on beta-tricalcium phosphate and magnesium-containing sol-gel derived bioactive glass

Hydroxyapatite-bioglass nanocomposites: Structural, mechanical, and biological aspects

This research work focuses on the fabrication and study of a series of nanocomposites consisting of two types of hydroxyapatite (HA), obtained by precipitate (HAP) and sol-gel (HAG) methods, and a boro-silico-phosphate bioglass. The microstructure and chemical, mechanical, and biological properties as functions of three factors, namely (i) the type of hydroxyapatite, (ii) glass content, and (iii) sintering temperature, were investigated. It was found that all of these factors affect the final composition and microstructure, especially, porosity, which shows significantly lower values for HAP-based composites than for HAG-based ones and higher values for higher glass content. This, in turn, has an impact on the microhardness, which exhibits a strong correlation with porosity, as well as on the mineralization capability and cell viability due to the different dissolution rate.

Wound closure, angiogenesis and antibacterial behaviors of tetracalcium phosphate/hydroxyethyl cellulose/hyaluronic acid/gelatin composite dermal scaffolds

Polymeric and tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP)-containing polymeric scaffolds were fabricated using a freeze-drying technique, with a homogenous solution of hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC)/hyaluronic acid (HA)/gelatin (G) or suspension of 15 or 20% TTCP) particles in HEC/HA/G solution. The morphology, phase composition, chemical bands, and swelling behavior of the scaffold were determined. In vitro fibroblast cell viability and migration potential of the scaffolds were determined by MTT, live/dead staining, and scratch assay for wound healing. The in vivo chick embryo angiogenesis test was also carried out. Finally, the initial antibacterial activity of the scaffolds was determined using Staphylococcus aureus. The scaffolds exhibited an enormous porous structure in which the size of pores increased by the presence of TTCP particles. While the polymeric scaffold was amorphous, the formation of low crystalline hydroxyapatite phase and the initial TTCP particles was determined in the composition of TTCP-added scaffolds. TTCP increased swelling behavior of the polymeric scaffold in PBS. The results demonstrated that the amount of TTCP was a crucial factor in cell life. A high concentration of TTCP could restrict cell viability, although all the scaffolds were nontoxic. The scratch assessments determined better cell migration and wound closure in treating with TTCP-containing scaffolds so that after 24 h, a wound closure of 100% was observed. Furthermore, TTCP-incorporated scaffolds significantly improved the angiogenesis, in the chick embryo test. The presence of TTCP had a significant effect on reducing the bacterial activity and 20% TTCP-containing scaffold exhibited better antibacterial activity than the others.

A bone substitute composed of polymethyl-methacrylate bone cement and Bio-Gene allogeneic bone promotes osteoblast viability, adhesion and differentiation

BACKGROUND

Increasing reports on new cement formulations that address the shortcomings of PMMA bone cements and various active components have been introduced to improve the biological activity of PMMA cement.

OBJECTIVE

Evaluating the biological properties of PMMA cements reinforced with Bio-Gene allogeneic bone.

METHODS

The MC3T3-E1 mouse osteoblast-like cells were utilized to determine the effects of Bio-Gene + PMMA on osteoblast viability, adhesion and differentiation.

RESULTS

The combination of allogeneic bone and PMMA increased the number of adherent live cells compared to both control group and PMMA or Bio-Gene group. Scanning electron microscopy observed that the number of cells adhered to Bio-Gene + PMMA was larger than Bio-Gene and PMMA group. Compared with the control and PMMA or Bio-Gene group, the level of ALP and the number of calcium nodules after osteoinduction was remarkably enhanced in Bio-Gene + PMMA group. Additionally, the combination of Bio-Gene and PMMA induced the protein expression of osteocalcin, osterix and collagen I.

CONCLUSION

The composition of PMMA and allogeneic bone could provide a more beneficial microenvironment for osteoblast proliferation, adhesion and differentiation. PMMA bone cement reinforced with Bio-Gene allogeneic bone may act as a novel bone substitute to improve the biological activity of PMMA cement.

[Biomechanical study of polymethyl methacrylate bone cement and allogeneic bone for strengthening sheep vertebrae]

Objective

To investigate the feasibility and mechanical properties of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) bone cement and allogeneic bone mixture to strengthen sheep vertebrae with osteoporotic compression fracture.

Methods

A total of 75 lumbar vertebrae (L ₁-L ₅) of adult goats was harvested to prepare the osteoporotic vertebral body model by decalcification. The volume of vertebral body and the weight and bone density before and after decalcification were measured. And the failure strength, failure displacement, and stiffness were tested by using a mechanical tester. Then the vertebral compression fracture models were prepared and divided into 3 groups ( n=25). The vertebral bodies were injected with allogeneic bone in group A, PMMA bone cement in group B, and mixture of allogeneic bone and PMMA bone cement in a ratio of 1∶1 in group C. After CT observation of the implant distribution in the vertebral body, the failure strength, failure displacement, and stiffness of the vertebral body were measured again.

Results

There was no significant difference in weight, bone density, and volume of vertebral bodies before decalcification between groups ( P>0.05). After decalcification, there was no significant difference in bone density, decreasing rate, and weight between groups ( P>0.05). There were significant differences in vertebral body weight and bone mineral density between pre- and post-decalcification in 3 groups ( P<0.05). CT showed that the implants in each group were evenly distributed in the vertebral body with no leakage. Before fracture, the differences in vertebral body failure strength, failure displacement, and stiffness between groups were not significant ( P>0.05). After augmentation, the failure displacement of group A was significantly greater than that of groups B and C, and the failure strength and stiffness were less than those of groups B and C, the failure displacement of group C was greater than that of group B, and the failure strength and stiffness were less than those of group B, the differences between groups were significant ( P<0.05). Except for the failure strength of group A ( P>0.05), the differences in the failure strength, failure displacement, and stiffness before fracture and after augmentation in the other groups were significant ( P<0.05).

Conclusion

The mixture of allogeneic bone and PMMA bone cement in a ratio of 1∶1 can improve the strength of the vertebral body of sheep osteoporotic compression fractures and restore the initial stiffness of the vertebral body. It has good mechanical properties and can be used as one of the filling materials in percutaneous vertebroplasty.

Biological Properties of Calcium Phosphate Bioactive Glass Composite Bone Substitutes: Current Experimental Evidence

Standard treatment for bone defects is the biological reconstruction using autologous bone—a therapeutical approach that suffers from limitations such as the restricted amount of bone available for harvesting and the necessity for an additional intervention that is potentially followed by donor-site complications. Therefore, synthetic bone substitutes have been developed in order to reduce or even replace the usage of autologous bone as grafting material. This structured review focuses on the question whether calcium phosphates (CaPs) and bioactive glasses (BGs), both established bone substitute materials, show improved properties when combined in CaP/BG composites. It therefore summarizes the most recent experimental data in order to provide a better understanding of the biological properties in general and the osteogenic properties in particular of CaP/BG composite bone substitute materials. As a result, BGs seem to be beneficial for the osteogenic differentiation of precursor cell populations in-vitro when added to CaPs. Furthermore, the presence of BG supports integration of CaP/BG composites into bone in-vivo and enhances bone formation under certain circumstances.

Photocurable bioactive bone cement based on hydroxyethyl methacrylate-poly(acrylic/maleic) acid resin and mesoporous sol gel-derived bioactive glass

This paper reports on strong and bioactive bone cement based on ternary bioactive SiO2-CaO-P2O5 glass particles and a photocurable resin comprising hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and poly(acrylic/maleic) acid. The as-cured composite represented a compressive strength of about 95 MPa but it weakened during soaking in simulated body fluid, SBF, qua its compressive strength reached to about 20 MPa after immersing for 30 days. Biodegradability of the composite was confirmed by reducing its initial weight (~32%) as well as decreasing the molecular weight of early cured resin during the soaking procedure. The composite exhibited in vitro calcium phosphate precipitation in the form of nanosized carbonated hydroxyapatite, which indicates its bone bonding ability. Proliferation of calvarium-derived newborn rat osteoblasts seeded on top of the composite was observed during incubation at 37 °C, meanwhile, an adequate cell supporting ability was found. Consequently, it seems that the produced composite is an appropriate alternative for bone defect injuries, because of its good cell responses, high compressive strength and ongoing biodegradability, though more in vivo experiments are essential to confirm this assumption.

Synthesis and characterization of biocompatible-nanohydroxyapatite crystals obtained by a modified sol-gel processing

A modified sol-gel process for synthesizing nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite powders (nHA) for biomedical applications, using tetrahydrated calcium nitrate [Ca(NO₃)₂∙4H₂O] and phosphorous pentoxide [P₂O₅] as precursor, is presented and discussed. The powders were washed and heat-treated at different temperatures and then characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The total process time reached with this modified process was less than 16 h. The results showed that there was an increment in size of the HA nanocrystals (nHA) when treated at different temperatures, ranging from 30 nm for the sample treated at 600°C to 500 nm for the sample heat-treated at 1200°C.

Effect of heat treatment on the properties of SiO2-CaO-MgO-P 2O 5 bioactive glasses

Since the invention of 45S5 Bioglass, researchers never stopped exploring new generation bioactive glass (BG) materials for wider applications in regenerative medicine, among which a novel SiO(2)-CaO-MgO-P(2)O(5) bioactive glass (BG20) is an excellent candidate. However, apart from their biocompatibility and bioactivity, a porous structure is also a must for a tissue engineering scaffold in successfully fixing bone defect. The porosity is the outcome of the high temperature (500-1,000 °C) treatment in the fabricating process of the bioglass scaffold. Under the high temperature, the amorphous glass material will become crystallized at certain percentage in the glass matrix, and possibly leading to consequent changes in the mechanical strength, biodegradability and bioactivity. To elucidate the effect of phase transition on the change of the properties of BG20, the experiments in this report were designed to fine-tuning the heat treating temperatures to fabricate a series of BG20 powders with different crystallization structures. X-ray diffraction revealed a positive correlation between the heating temperature and the crystallization, as well as the compressive strength of the materials. In vitro degradation and ion analysis by ICP-AES demonstrated a similar releasing behavior of different ions including Mg(2+), Ca(2+) and Si(4+), which in common is the tendency of decreasing of the ion concentration along with the increasing of the treating temperature. Cell proliferation assay using both mouse fibroblasts (NIH3T3) and bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) showed little toxicity of the ionic extract of the BG20 powders at all the treating temperatures, while fibroblasts demonstrated a significant promoting in the percentage of proliferation. Furthermore, reverse-transcription and polymerase chain reaction analysis on two representative marker genes for early osteogenesis and endochondral ossification, respectively, type I collagen alpha 1 and Indian Hedge-hog, showed an interesting induction of both genes over their basal levels by the treatment of the ionic extract of BG20, implying its important capability in regulating the fate of differentiation of the BMSCs as a novel biomaterial in bone tissue engineering.

Synthesis of novel tricalcium phosphate-bioactive glass composite and functionalization with rhBMP-2

A functionalization is required for calcium phosphate-based bone substitute materials to achieve an entire bone remodeling. In this study it was hypothesized that a tailored composite of tricalcium phosphate and a bioactive glass can be loaded sufficiently with rhBMP-2 for functionalization. A composite of 40 wt% tricalcium phosphate and 60 wt% bioactive glass resulted in two crystalline phases, wollastonite and rhenanite after sintering. SEM analysis of the composite's surface revealed a spongious bone-like morphology after treatment with different acids. RhBMP-2 was immobilized non-covalently by treating with chrome sulfuric acid (CSA) and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) and covalently by treating with CSA/APS, and additionally with 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole. It was proved that samples containing non-covalently immobilized rhBMP-2 on the surface exhibit significant biological activity in contrast to the samples with covalently bound protein on the surface. We conclude that a tailored composite of tricalcium phosphate and bioactive glass can be loaded sufficiently with BMP-2.