Development of cell-responsive nanophase hydroxyapatite for tissue engineering

Abstract

Scaffold plays a critical role in engineering bone tissues by providing necessary structural support for the cells to accommodate and guiding their growth in the three dimensional (3D) space. Therefore, designing scaffold that mimic composition and structural aspects of the bone is of great importance to promote cell adhesion, cell-matrix interactions, osteointegration, tissue formation and continued function. Nanophase hydroxyapatite (HA) is a class of bioceramic material that mimics the bone mineral in composition and structure and possesses unique capabilities for surface interactions with biological entities than conventional HA; therefore, it can be used as a scaffolding system in engineering bone tissues. This article reports synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of nanophase HA for use in bone tissue engineering and how the nanophase characteristics help the HA to promote cells/tissue growth with suitable experimental examples. © 2007 Science Publications.