IN-VITRO INTERACTION BETWEEN TETRACALCIUM PHOSPHATE-BASED CEMENT AND CALVARIAL OSTEOGENIC CELLS

Newly-developed tetracalcium phosphate-based cement (4CP cement) and c ells derived from neonatal rat calvaria were cocultured to study the i n vitro reaction of osteoblastic cells to the biomaterial at light and electron microscopic levels. Three-dimensional nodular structures cov ered with active osteoblastic cells were formed in the periphery of th e test material and they contained a mineralized tissue that exhibited features closely resembling bone formed in vivo. Ultrastructurally, t he test material was circumscribed with an electron-dense structure, a nd was immediately adjacent to elongated cyoplasmic processes with int act morphology or collagen fibrils with periodic structures. Furthermo re, the mineralization of the extracellular collagenous matrix occurre d directly on the surface of the material. These in vitro findings sug gest the ability of 4CP cement to bind directly with newly-formed hard tissues. (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Limited.