<i>In Vitro</i> Efficacy of CaCO₃ Content in CaTiO₃– CaCO₃ Composites for Bone Growth

Abstract

The eff ect of CaTiO 3 compounded with diff erent amounts of CaCO 3 on osteoblastic KUSA/A1 cells was evaluated. CaTiO 3 -CaCO 3 composites were obtained by alkoxide method, a simple, low-cost and reproducible technique used for largescale production of material. The content of CaCO 3 in our samples was controlled by varying the sintering time of the overall process. Composite morphology was assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showing particles with sizes ranging from100 to 500 nm. The presence of CaCO 3 was revealed by XRD and thermogravimetric analyses, which suggested that samples treated at 650ºC for 30 min contained higher amounts of CaCO 3 than samples treated for 2 and 10 h. Additionally, in vitro studies demonstrated that CaTiO 3 -CaCO 3 composites sintered for 30 min induced augmented cell proliferation and mineralization in comparison to composites sintered for longer periods of time. Hence, our fi ndings clearly suggest that the amount of CaCO 3 within CaTiO 3 -CaCO 3 composites exerts a critical eff ect on osteoblastic cells response. Enhanced bone regeneration could be achieved by increasing the content of CaCO 3 within the composites, thus establishing CaTiO 3 -CaCO 3 as a promising material for bone augmentation procedures in dental fi eld.