Bone regeneration by calcium phosphate‐loaded carboxymethyl cellulose nonwoven sheets in canine femoral condyle defects

The bone regeneration capacities of calcium phosphate (CaP)-loaded carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) nonwoven sheet (CMC/CaP) were evaluated using a dog lateral femoral condyle defect model. In addition, the effect of bFGF on bone regeneration when added to CMC/CaP sheet was investigated. The CMC and CMC/CaP sheets have high operability. The new bone formation rate in the CMC/CaP group was significantly higher than that in the control and CMC groups based on micro-computed tomography and histological evaluation. In contrast, there was no significant difference between the CMC/CaP group and the CMC/CaP/f group. In conclusion, the CMC/CaP sheet has the ability to promote new bone formation and seems to be useful as a sheet-shaped bone graft substitute. The effect of the auditioning signaling molecules to the CMC/CaP sheet, such as bFGF, requires further investigation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 107B: 1516-1521, 2019.