Biocompatibility of cellulose sponge with bone

The purpose of this study was to investigate the biocompatibility of viscos e cellulose sponge (VCS) with bone. Twenty-five Sprague-Dawley rats were us ed for the study. After curettage of the bone marrow from both femoral cavi ties, VCS (15 x 1 x 1 mm) was implanted into one femur, leaving the contral ateral side empty as a control. The rats were killed 1-6 weeks after curett age, and bone formation inside the sponge was assessed by light-microscopic examination and histomorphometric assessment. Whereas normal bone formatio n in rat femoral cavity took place in 2 weeks after curettage, 4 weeks were needed for bone formation in the cellulose sponge. VCS is a compatible mat rix for osseous tissue ingrowth and it may be useful as a scaffold for bone tissue engineering in experiments and possibly also in clinical practice.