The Application Of CBC As A Scaffold To The Study Of Bone Tissue Engineering

The reconstruction of lost parts of the skeleton is generally carried out with bone grafts and substitutes. To obviate the need for harvesting of grafts and to avoid the failings for using biomaterials alone, a search for bone production via tissue engineering, a new emerging field in biomedicine, has begun. Some kinds of ideal scaffold, providing three-dimension space for cells growing and tissue formation, have to be investigated. CBC (calcined bone calcium) , which is produced by sintering of bovine bone possesses the scaffold properties of tissue engineering bone with its biocompatibility, osteoconduction and porous structure. In this study we investigate the feasibility of CBC as scaffold material in bone tissue engineering. Methods: Fabricate CBC and investigate it by using a number of physicochemical methods such as SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and X~ray diffraction. Bone marrow cells obtained from New Zealand rabbits were cultured and differentiated into MSO (marrow stromal osteoblast). MSO were seeded on CBC discs to form a kind of MCCAB (MSO/CBC compound artificial bone). The feasibility of using MSO as bone-derived cell and CBC as scaffold material and The bone forming effect of the composites were observed by a series of experiments including culture in vitro, ectopic transplantation in immunodeficiency animals (nude mice), ectopic autotransplantation and autogenous repair of calvaria defects. The characteristic of MSO culture in vitro with CBC was observed by SEM, The effectiveness of bone formation was assessed by means ofroentgenography, histology and computerized histomorphometry. Results: (1) CBC possesses a natural trabecular structure. Its components is similar to the mineral of bone. (2) CBC has great cellur biocompatibility. It can promote cell adhesion, proliferation and secretory while needn' t modification. (3) In nude mice, the ectopic osteogenesis of MCCAB was obvious which was better than that of CBC alone and the new bone formation increased in pace with time. In the MCCAB, both intramembranous and cartilaginous osteogeneses were seen but the former dominated. (4) When MCCAB was autotransplanted intramuscularly, the osteogenesis was much better than that of negative control groups. (5) The MCCAB can repair autogenous calvaria defects effectively and the effect was much better than that of CBM alone and blank group. Conclusion: (1) CBC possesses good biocompatibility, osteoconduction and porous structure, can be used as scaffold material for constructing of tissue engineering bone. (2) CBC is an ideal scaffold material for bone tissue engineering. The osteogenesis of MCCAB is obvious when transplanted in non-osseous sites and bone defect areas. Therefore, MCCAB presented a promising prospect for clinical practice.