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Updated: May 3, 2026

Biological Compatibility Profile on Biomaterials for Bone Regeneration
Published on: November 16, 2018
Cellular response of calcium phosphate bone substitute containing hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate
Chung-Lung Wu1, Shih-Fu Ou, Ta-Sen Huang
1*Visiting Staff, Department of Dentistry, Cathay General Hospital; Visiting Staff, Department of Dentistry, Sijhih Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. †Assistant professor, Department of Mold and Die Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Research Center for Biomedical Devices and Prototyping Production, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. ‡Visiting Staff, Department of Dentistry, Taipei Medical University, Shuang-Ho Hospital; Lecturer, School of Dentistry, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University; Research Center for Biomedical Devices and Prototyping Production, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. §Assistant Professor, Department of Dental Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. ∥Visiting Staff, Department of Dentistry, Taipei Medical University, Shuang-Ho Hospital; Lecturer, School of Dentistry, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University; Research Center for Biomedical Devices and Prototyping Production, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. ¶Professor and Dean, Graduate Institute of Biomedical Materials and Tissue Engineering, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University; Director, Research Center for Biomedical Implants and Microsurgery Devices, Taipei Medical University; and Director, Research Center for Biomedical Devices and Prototyping Production, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Purpose:
This study developed calcium phosphate bone substitutes and their microstucture and in vitro cell response were evaluated in comparison with commercial hydroxyapatite (HA).
Materials:
HA powder was ball-milled and then sintered to transfer into the calcium phosphate bulks (CPB). The density, hardness, and microstructure of the CPB were investigated. The viability and proliferation of MG63 osteoblast-like cells on the commercial HA and the CPB were evaluated.
Results:
The x-ray diffraction confirmed that the CPB consisted of α-tricalcium phosphate (α-TCP), CaO, and HA. The hardness, density, and α-TCP-to-HA ratio of the CPB decreased when increasing the sintering duration. Cell tests demonstrated that the CPB exhibited an earlier cell-spread response than the commercial HA.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrated that a phase transformation of HA into α-TCP and CaO was achieved by sintering. The cell tests indicated that the CPB has favorable in vitro cellular performance, which implied that it presented potential as bone substitute.
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