Biocompatible Hydroxyapatite Ceramics Prepared from Natural Bones and Synthetic Materials

Abstract

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is well known as a biocompatible and bioactive material. HA has been practically applied as bone graft materials in a range of medical and dental fields. In this study, two types of dense hydroxyapatite ceramics were prepared from natural bones and synthetic materials. The biocompatibility of HA ceramics for supporting osteoblast cell growth and cytotoxicity using an in vitro MG-63 cell line model were respectively evaluated. Artificial hydroxyapatite shows relative density of 93% with 1-2 µm after sintering, but a hydroxyapatite compact derived from bovine bone has low sintered density of 85% with a small content of MgO. Irrespective of the starting raw materials, both types of sintered hydroxyapatite displayed similar biocompatibility in the tests. FE-SEM observations showed that most MG-63 cells had a stellar shape and formed an intercellular matrix containing fibers on sintered HA. The cells were well attached and grown over the HA surface, indicating that there was no toxicity.