Highly bioactive nano-hydroxyapatite/partially stabilized zirconia ceramics

Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HA) powders have been synthesized by precipitation using Ca(NO3)2 4H2O and? (NH4)2 HPO4 at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Nanocomposites of HA and partially stabilized zirconia (HA/PSZ) were sintered at atmospheric pressure and 1300 for 2h in air. The preparation techniques, structure and me- chanical properties of these materials were characterized. The addition of nanosized PSZ reinforcing phase to HA may lead to an improvement of the macro and micro mechanical properties and not affect its biocompatibility and bioactivity. The bending strength, fracture toughness and nano-hardness were near to or greater than those for human cortical bone and human tooth (dentine and enamel). The composite was incubated in a fresh human plasma which confirmed the bioactivity of nanosized HA/PSZ materials. The bonding reaction between HA/PSZ ceramic and the plasma proteins was found, and he- matopoietic cell phosphatase (HCP) layers formed on surface of each composite incubated in human plasma for two weeks. The diameter of a single HCP globule was less than 100 nm. Furthermore, the precipitating mechanism investigation was carried out through a comparative experiment in this paper.

Biomimetic hydroxyapatite coating on the 3D-printed bioactive porous composite ceramic scaffolds promoted osteogenic differentiation via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathways and facilitated bone regeneration in vivo

The architecture and surface modifications have been regarded as effective methods to enhance the bi-ological response of biomaterials in bone tissue engineering.The porous architecture of the implanta-tion was essential conditions for bone regeneration.Meanwhile,the design of biomimetic hydroxyap-atite(HAp)coating on porous scaffolds was demonstrated to strengthen the bioactivity and stimulate osteogenesis.However,bioactive bio-ceramics such asβ-tricalcium phosphate(β-TCP)and calcium sili-cate(CS)with superior apatite-forming ability were reported to present better osteogenic activity than that of HAp.Hence in this study,3D-printed interconnected porous bioactive ceramicsβ-TCP/CS scaf-fold was fabricated and the biomimetic HAp apatite coating were constructed in situ via hydrothermal reaction,and the effects of HAp apatite layer on the fate of mouse bone mesenchymal stem cells(mBM-SCs)and the potential mechanisms were explored.The results indicated that HAp apatite coating en-hanced cell proliferation,alkaline phosphatase(ALP)activity,and osteogenic gene expression.Further-more,PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway is proved to have an important impact on cellular functions.The present results demonstrated that the key molecules of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K),protein kinase B(AKT)and mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR)were activated after the biomimetic hydrox-yapatite coating were constructed on the 3D-printed ceramic scaffolds.Besides,the activated influence on the protein expression of Runx2 and BMP2 could be suppressed after the treatment of inhibitor HY-10358.In vivo studies showed that the constructed HAp coating promoted bone formation and strengthen the bone quality.These results suggest that biomimetic HAp coating constructed on the 3D-printed bioac-tive composite scaffolds could strengthen the bioactivity and the obtained biomimetic multi-structured scaffolds might be a potential alternative bone graft for bone regeneration.

3D-printed bioactive ceramic scaffolds with biomimetic micro/nano-HAp surfaces mediated cell fate and promoted bone augmentation of the bone-implant interface in vivo

Calcium phosphate bio-ceramics are osteo-conductive,but it remains a challenge to promote the induction of bone augmentation and capillary formation.The surface micro/nano-topography of materials can be recognized by cells and then the cell fate are mediated.Traditional regulation methods of carving surface structures on bio-ceramics employ mineral reagents and organic additives,which might introduce impurity phases and affect the biological results.In a previous study,a facile and novel method was utilized with ultrapure water as the unique reagent for hydrothermal treatment,and a uniform hydroxyapatite(HAp)surface layer was constructed on composite ceramics(β-TCP/CaSiO_(3))in situ.Further combined with 3D printing technology,biomimetic hierarchical structure scaffolds were fabricated with interconnected porous composite ceramic scaffolds as the architecture and micro/nano-rod hybrid HAp as the surface layer.The obtained HAp surface layer favoured cell adhesion,alleviated the cytotoxicity of precursor scaffolds,and upregulated the cellular differentiation of mBMSCs and gene expression of HUVECs in vitro.In vivo studies showed that capillary formation,bone augmentation and new bone matrix formation were upregulated after the HAp surface layer was obtained,and the results confirmed that the fabricated biomimetic hierarchical structure scaffold could be an effective candidate for bone regeneration.