Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
For example, if we consider the cell substrate and mineralisation potential
of two biodegradable synthetic polymers, poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) and
poly(lactic/glycolic acid) (PLa/PGa), approved by the Food and Drug
adminstration (FDa), it is clear that their osteoblast adhesion is not
necessarily satisfactory in the case of PCL (Fig. 14.4a) when compared to
standard tissue culture plastic (Fig. 14.4b) and no significant mineralisation
potential in SBF systems has been reported.
although the degradation of PLa/PGa co-polymers allows their degradation
to be tuned both
in vitro
and
in vivo
, the acidic environment generated by
their degradation process may affect cell viability
in vitro
and it has been
reported to cause adverse reaction
in vivo
(Hedberg
et al
., 2005). the
osteoblast adhesion properties of this class of copolymers largely employed
in manufacturing bone-graft substitutes is also affected by their chemical
composition, molecular weight and by the methods of polymerisation and
processing (Di toro
et al
., 2004). Despite their wide use in clinics, their
effects on human osteoblasts
in vitro
have not been accurately investigated.
10
m
m
100
m
m
14.4
Osteoblast adhesion on PCL (a) and control tissue culture plate
(b).
