The fundamental of tissue engineering: new scaffolds

The ability to regenerate new bone for skeletal use is a major clinical need. In this study, two novel porous calcium phosphate materials pure HA and biphasic HA/β-Tricalcium phosphate (HA/β-TCP) were evaluated as potential scaffolds for cell-seeded bone substitutes using human osteoblast-like cells (HOS) and primary human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). A high rate of proliferation was observed on both scaffolds. A greater increase in alkaline phosphatase (ALP - an indicator of osteoblast differentiation) was observed on HA//β-TCP compared to HA. This observation indicates that HA/TCP may play a role in inducing osteoblastic differentiation. Although further evaluation is required both materials show potential as innovative synthetic substitutes for tissue engineered scaffolds. (Author)