A new method to produce macroporous Mg-phosphate bone growth substitutes

摘要

This paper is a sequel to our previous effort in developing Mg-phosphate orthopedic cements using amorphous Mg-phosphate (AMP) as the precursor. In this paper, we report a new real-time in situ technique to create macroporous bone growth substitute (BGS). The method uses biodegradable Mg-particles as the porogen. As op¬ posed to the conventional wisdom of providing corrosion protection layers to biodegradable Mg-alloys, the pres¬ ent method uses the fast corrosion kinetics of Mg to create macropores in real time during the setting of the cement. An aqueous solution of PVA was used as the setting solution. Using this technique, a macroporous ce¬ ment containing up to 91% porosity is obtained, as determined by pycnometry. Due to formation of H2 gas bub¬ bles from corrosion of Mg, the cement becomes macroporous. The pore sizes as big as 760 μm were observed. The results of SBF soaking indicated change in crystallinity as confirmed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Our in vitro cytocompatibility evaluation also revealed that the macroporous bone growth substitute composed of bobierrite is cytocompatible and can improve gene expression.