Magnesium calcium phosphate/β-tricalcium phosphate incorporation into gelatin scaffold: an in vitro comparative study

Gelatin scaffolds incorporating or not 50 wt% of magnesium calcium phosphate (MCP) or β-tricalcium phosphate (βTCP) were prepared and the in vitro osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the scaffolds was investigated. The pore sizes of the scaffolds were in the range 123.8 ± 47.2-153 ± 60.72 µm in diameter, while the porosity was 33.3 ± 2-44.9 ± 3.4%. The compression modulus of the sponges was about 2.04-2.24 mPa. There was no significant difference among groups regarding the physical and mechanical properties. When seeded into the sponges by an agitation method, the MSCs were distributed throughout the scaffold. Higher MSC proliferation was observed for scaffolds incorporating minerals. Following the incubation of MSCs in scaffolds incorporating MCP, the alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly higher at weeks 2, 3 and 4 in comparison with other scaffolds; however, the osteocalcin levels of MSCs did not show significant differences among groups. These findings indicate that MSCs seeded in scaffolds incorporating MCP showed significantly superior biological results in terms of proliferation and osteogenic differentiation in comparison with other scaffold types.