Apatite-based microcarriers for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

The current available microcarriers were mainly targeted towards pharmaceutical industries, and might not be suitable for therapeutic implantation. As such, apatite-based microcarriers intended for bone tissue engineering applications would be featured here. Hydroxyapatite-Alginate (HA-Alg) suspension was extruded drop-wise into a calcium chloride (CaCl 2) crosslinking solution. The HA-Alg microcarriers were then sintered to form microcarriers of uniform size. The physicochemical properties were analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometery (XRD), and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometry. Cell viability on these microcarriers was evaluated using human fetal mesenchymal stem cells (hfMSCs). SEM images revealed that sintered apatite-based microcarriers exhibited a rough surface topology with interconnected pores. XRD results showed that these microcarriers remained phase-pure since no other secondary calcium phosphate phases were detected. FTIR analysis indicated several sharp phosphate bands coupled with a hydroxyl band (all belonging to HA). Live/dead staining showed that hfMSCs remained viable after 14 days of culture, and cells have spread and covered the surfaces of the microcarriers. Certainly, these cell-loaded microcarriers could be potentially used in bone implant science. © (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.