The effect of calcium phosphate cement-silica composite materials on proliferation and differentiation of pre-osteoblast cells

Abstract

Calcium phosphate cement (CPC) is increasingly being used for bone and tissue engineering in the medical and dental fields. In the current study, we investigated the ability of a CPC-silica composite to enhance the activity of cells by analyzing its effects on the proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1, an osteoblast precursor cell line. We found that the CPC-silica composite materials with low silica content (5 wt%) promoted good initial cell adhesion and proliferation. In addition, the CPC-silica composite materials exhibited a higher capacity for stimulating osteogenic differentiation, which was assayed using alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and RT-PCR, than CPC alone. Therefore, we propose that 5 wt% silica content may serve as a useful component in calcium phosphate-based bone cements owing to its ability to promote osteoblast differentiation. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.