Self-Hardening Microspheres of Calcium Phosphate Cement with Collagen for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering in Bone Repair

摘要

Self-hardening microspheres were developed as a 3-dimensional (3D) matrix for bone regeneration, α-tricalcium phosphate (α-TCP)-based calcium phosphate cement (CPC) was mixed with collagen and emulsified to produce spherical microparticu-lates, during which the spheres could be hardened within minutes. The immersion of the microspheres in a fluid allowed the transformation of the α-TCP into bone mineral-like hydroxy-apatite. Biological protein could be easily encapsulated within the microspheres and was released in a sustained manner over a month. Bone cells were shown to adhere and grow actively upon the CPC-collagen microspheres. The newly developed CPC-collagen microspheres with self-hardening property may be potentially useful as a 3D matrix for bone regeneration.