Fast dissolving glucose porogens for early calcium phosphate cement degradation and bone regeneration

Here, we demonstrate the in vivo efficacy of glucose microparticles (GMPs) to serve as porogens within calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) to obtain a fast-degrading bone substitute material. Composites were fabricated incorporating 20 wt% GMPs at two different GMP size ranges (100-150 μm (GMP-S) and 150-300 μm (GMP-L)), while CPC containing 20 wt% poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) microparticles (PLGA) and plain CPC served as controls. After 2 and 8 weeks implantation in a rat femoral condyle defect model, specimens were retrieved and analyzed for material degradation and bone formation. Histologically, no adverse tissue response to any of the CPC-formulations was observed. All CPC-porogen formulations showed faster degradation compared to plain CPC control, but only GMP-containing formulations showed higher amounts of new bone formation compared to plain CPC controls. After 8 weeks, only CPC-porogen formulations with GMP-S or PLGA porogens showed higher degradation compared to plain CPC controls. Overall, the inclusion of GMPs into CPCs resulted in a macroporous structure that initially accelerated the generation of new bone. These findings highlight the efficacy of a novel approach that leverages simple porogen properties to generate porous CPCs with distinct degradation and bone regeneration profiles.