Cell attachment and proliferation on hydroxyapatite and ion substituted hydroxyapatites

Hydroxyapatite (HA), partially fluoride substituted hydroxyapatite (fHA), and fluorapatite (FA) were synthesized in-house and characterised. Cell attachment and proliferation on polystyrene, titanium, HA, fHA and FA were investigated. It was found that fHA was a promising biomaterial. This material supports osteoblast cell attachment equivalent to that observed with polystyrene (plastic tissue culture well), titanium (a widely used metal implant material), HA and FA. However, it is significantly superior to these materials in inducing proliferation of the human osteoblast cell line. The cell proliferation rate on fHA is more than double the rate of the remaining materials, including HA, a widely used biomaterial. fHA may thus be a potential candidate biomaterial for biomedical applications.