title: In vitro and in vivo evaluations of 3D porous TCP-coated and non-coated alumina scaffolds.
abstract: Both tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and alumina have been extensively studied and shown to have high biocompatibility. Tricalcium phosphate has improved biodegradability and a higher solubility than hydroxyapatite. In contrast, alumina (Al(2)O(3)) is almost completely inert at physiological conditions and has been used as a biomaterial due to its wear resistance, high surface finish, and excellent hardness. Thus, the combination of these two implants would result in greater biocompatibility and phenotype maintenance. A polyurethane (PU) foam replica method was employed in this study to coat TCP on an alumina scaffold. The TCP-coated alumina scaffold was then sintered to generate a porous surface morphology. The pore sizes obtained using this approach ranged between 100-600 µm, which is ideal for cellular proliferation. The cytotoxicity, cellular proliferation, differentiation, and ECM deposition on the coated scaffold resulted in longer-term viability of osteogenic markers compared to the non-coated scaffold. Moreover, the osteogenic properties of porous TCP-coated Al(2)O(3) scaffolds were reported in this study using rabbit models. The TCP/Al(2)O( 3) scaffold and control Al(2)O(3) scaffolds were implanted in the rabbit femur. The bone tissue response was analyzed with micro-computed tomography (micro CT) at 12 and 24 weeks after implantation. The porous scaffolds exhibited favorable hard and soft tissue responses at both time points. At 24 weeks, a three-fold increase in bone tissue ingrowth was observed in defects containing TCP-coated Al(2)O(3) scaffolds compared to control Al(2)O(3) scaffolds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University 366-1, Ssangyoung-dong, Cheonan City, Chungnam, 330-090, South Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jyoti M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Anirban
authors.forename: Ho-Yeon
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Hyung-Seok
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Byong-Taek
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000166:cytology; D002130:Calcium Phosphates / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D002460:Cell Line / Q000166:cytology; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D011140:Polyurethanes; D016062:Porosity; D011817:Rabbits; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography
chemical_list: D002130:Calcium Phosphates; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D011140:Polyurethanes; C028279:polyurethane foam; C018392:tricalcium phosphate; D000537:Aluminum Oxide