The effect of calcium phosphate cement-silica composite materials on proliferation and differentiation of pre-osteoblast cells

Calcium phosphate cement (CPC) is increasingly being used for bone and tissue engineering in the medical and dental fields. In the current study, we investigated the ability of a CPC-silica composite to enhance the activity of cells by analyzing its effects on the proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1, an osteoblast precursor cell line. We found that the CPC-silica composite materials with low silica content (5 wt%) promoted good initial cell adhesion and proliferation. In addition, the CPC-silica composite materials exhibited a higher capacity for stimulating osteogenic differentiation, which was assayed using alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and RT-PCR, than CPC alone. Therefore, we propose that 5 wt% silica content may serve as a useful component in calcium phosphate-based bone cements owing to its ability to promote osteoblast differentiation. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.