OSTEOBLAST-LIKE CELL ADHERANCE AND MIGRATION THROUGH 3-DIMENSIONAL POROUS POLYMER MATRICES

Osteoblast cells collected from rat calvaria were plated onto a biodeg radable 3-dimensional porous composite of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) a nd hydroxyapatite to quantitatively assess the matrix's ability to sup port living cell adhesion throughout an initial 24 hour period. Number s of cells adhering to the polymer exceeded the plating number of cell s, demonstrating that during the 24 hour period, proliferation of cell s began. Using immunoflourescent staining for anti-osteocalcin, an exc lusive marker for bone cells, osteoblasts were seen to adhere to both the exterior surface of the polymer and to have migrated to the interi or surface of the matrix. It is proposed that this biodegradable cell/ polymer composite may be useful in bone grafting applications. These s tudies demonstrated early cellular attachment, proliferation and ingro wth of osteoblast cells can occur within the matrix, with preservation of bone cell phenotypes. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.