Preparing nano-calcium phosphate particles via a biologically friendly pathway

It is widely agreed that nano-calcium phosphates (CaP) play an important role in tissue engineering and medical application due to their unique biological characteristics. However, the properties of nano-CaP, including bioactivity, biocompatibility and mechanical properties, are tailored over wide ranges by controlling the size and morphology of particles. Therefore, it is important to develop synthesis methods which can control the particle size distribution and shape uniformly. In this study, we report that polyacrylic acid (PAA) can act as an efficient agent to modulate nano-CaP formation. The dimension of the resultant sphere-like nanoparticles (5-60 nm) can readily be regulated by changing PAA concentrations (75-200 μg ml-1). In contrast to other additives, PAA is a water-soluble polymer that has already been used as an excellent biocompatible implant material in vivo. Our in vitro proliferation experiments of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) demonstrate that the involvement of PAA does not change the bioactivity of the resultant nano-CaP. In contrast, the nano-CaP fabricated by using another typical control agent, hexadecyl (cetyl) trimethyl ammonium bromide, suppressed the cell proliferation of BMSCs. Thus, we suggest that the biopolymer, PAA, can provide a more biologically friendly pathway to prepare biological nano-CaP for biomedical application. (communication)