NATURAL CORAL AS A SUBSTRATE FOR FIBROBLASTIC GROWTH IN-VITRO

Coral skeleton is a naturally porous material. This biomaterial is now adays currently used in humans as a bone graft substitute. Its open po rosity provides a large area for potential cell adhesion and for this reason fibroblastic cell proliferation into this material was investig ated. McCoy's human fibroblasts were cultured on coral specimens; cell viability and propagation were evaluated by the means of an MTT test and manual counting. Due to the biomaterial porosity, numerous technic al adjustments were necessary to ensure an acceptable cell development and evaluation of cell populations. Cell population was evaluated eve ry 3 days over a 24-day period. When compared to cell growth on cultur e membranes, fibroblasts grew slower on coral during the early time pe riods, but increased to 2.2 times that of controls from the 12th day a fter seeding. Natural coral seems to offer a suitable surface for larg e fibroblastic culture and could be an interesting alternative to synt hetic substrates traditionally used for this purpose.