Search

Bone apatite consists of carbonated calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite (CDHA) nanocrystals. Biomimetic routes allow fabricating synthetic bone grafts that mimic biological apatite. In this work, we explored the role of two distinctive features of biomimetic apatites, namely, nanocrystal morphology (plate vs needle-like crystals) and carbonate content, on the bone regeneration potential of CDHA scaffolds in an in vivo canine model. Both ectopic bone formation and scaffold degradation were drastically affected by the nanocrystal morphology after intramuscular implantation. Fine-CDHA foams with needle-like nanocrystals, comparable in size to bone mineral, showed a markedly higher osteoinductive potential and a superior degradation than chemically identical coarse-CDHA foams with larger plate-shaped crystals. These findings correlated well with the superior bone-healing capacity showed by the fine-CDHA scaffolds when implanted intraosseously. Moreover, carbonate doping of CDHA, which resulted in small plate-shaped nanocrystals, accelerated both the intrinsic osteoinduction and the bone healing capacity, and significantly increased the cell-mediated resorption. These results suggest that tuning the chemical composition and the nanostructural features may allow the material to enter the physiological bone remodeling cycle, promoting a tight synchronization between scaffold degradation and bone formation.

The fabrication of calcium phosphates using biomimetic routes, namely, precipitation processes at body temperature, results in distinct features compared to conventional sintered calcium phosphate ceramics, such as a high specific surface area (SSA) and micro- or nanometric crystal size. The aim of this article is to analyze the effects of these parameters on cell response, focusing on two bone cell types: rat mesenchymal stem cells (rMSCs) and human osteoblastic cells (SaOS-2). Biomimetic calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite (CDHA) was obtained by a low temperature setting reaction, and α-tricalcium phosphate (α-TCP) and β-tricalcium phosphate were subsequently obtained by sintering CDHA either at 1400°C or 1100°C. Sintered stoichiometric hydroxyapatite (HA) was also prepared using ceramic routes. The materials were characterized in terms of SSA, skeletal density, porosity, and pore size distribution. SaOS-2 cells and rMSCs were seeded either directly on the surfaces of the materials or on glass coverslips subsequently placed on top of the materials to expose the cells to the CaP-induced ionic changes in the culture medium, while avoiding any topography-related effects. CDHA produced higher ionic fluctuations in both cell culture media than sintered ceramics, with a strong decrease of calcium and a release of phosphate. Indirect contact cell cultures revealed that both cell types were sensitive to these ionic modifications, resulting in a decrease in proliferation rate, more marked for CDHA, this effect being more pronounced for rMSCs. In direct contact cultures, good cell adhesion was found on all materials, but, while cells were able to proliferate on the sintered calcium phosphates, cell number was significantly reduced with time on biomimetic CDHA, which was associated to a higher percentage of apoptotic cells. Direct contact of the cells with biomimetic CDHA resulted also in a higher alkaline phosphatase activity for both cell types compared to sintered CaPs, indicating a promotion of the osteoblastic phenotype.

Since the discovery that nanostructured surfaces were able to kill bacteria, many works have been published focusing on the design of nanopatterned surfaces with antimicrobial properties. Synthetic bone grafts, based on calcium phosphate (CaP) formulations, can greatly benefit from this discovery if adequate nanotopographies can be developed. However, CaP are reactive materials and experience ionic exchanges when placed into aqueous solutions which may in turn affect cell behaviour and complicate the interpretation of the bactericidal results. The present study explores the bactericidal potential of two nanopillared CaP prepared by hydrolysis of two different sizes of α-tricalcium phosphate (α-TCP) powders under biomimetic or hydrothermal conditions. A more lethal bactericidal response toward Pseudomonas aeruginosa(~75% killing efficiency of adhered bacteria) was obtained from the hydrothermally treated CaP which consisted in a more irregular topography in terms of pillar size (radius: 20–60 nm), interpillar distances (100–1500 nm) and pillar distribution (pillar groups forming bouquets) than the biomimetically treated one (radius: 20–40 nm and interpillar distances: 50–200 nm with a homogeneous pillar distribution). The material reactivity was greatly influenced by the type of medium (nutrient-rich versus nutrient-free) and the presence or not of bacteria. A lower reactivity and superior bacterial attachment were observed in the nutrient-free medium while a lower attachment was observed for the nutrient rich medium which was explained by a superior reactivity of the material paired with the lower tendency of planktonic bacteria to adhere on surfaces in the presence of nutrients. Importantly, the ionic exchanges produced by the presence of materials were not toxic to planktonic cells. Thus, we can conclude that topography was the main contributor to mortality in the bacterial adhesion tests.

Calcium phosphate (CaP) substrates are successfully used as bone grafts due to their osteogenic properties. However, the influence of the physicochemical features of CaPs in angiogenesis is frequently neglected despite it being a crucial process for bone regeneration. The present work focuses on analyzing the effects of textural parameters of biomimetic calcium deficient hydroxyapatite (CDHA) and sintered beta‐tricalcium phosphate (β‐TCP), such as specific surface area, surface roughness, and microstructure, on the behavior of rat endothelial progenitor cells (rEPCs) and their crosstalk with rat mesenchymal stem cells (rMSCs). The higher reactivity of CDHA results in low proliferation rates in monocultured and cocultured systems. This effect is especially pronounced for rMSCs alone, and for CDHA with a fine microstructure. In terms of angiogenic and osteogenic gene expressions, the upregulation of particular genes is especially enhanced for needle‐like CDHA compared to plate‐like CDHA and β‐TCP, suggesting the importance not only of the chemistry of the substrate, but also of its textural features. Moreover, the coculture of rEPCs and rMSCs on needle‐like CDHA results in early upregulation of osteogenic modulator, i.e., protein deglycase 1 might be a possible cause of overexpression of osteogenic‐related genes on the same substrate. Topographical and chemical features of biomimetic substratestrigger various responses of endothelial progenitor cells and mesenchymal stem cells in terms of proliferation and gene expression. The coculture of rEPCs and rMSCs on needle‐like CDHA results in overexpression of osteogenic and angiogenic modulators such as BMP‐2, ALP, VEGF RRR2, and EDH 1.