Osteoblast-like cell mineralization induced by multiphasic calcium phosphate ceramic

The work presented here examines the effect of multiphasic CaP materials on the activity of SaOS-2 osteoblast like cells. Heterogeneous calcium phosphate (HCaP) was synthesized using self-propagating high temperature combustion synthesis (SHS). All samples were characterized using XRD, SEM, and FTIR. Cell culture procedures of HCaP with SaOS-2 cells followed ASTM 813-01. Samples were examined by Environmental SEM (ESEM) and EDS to characterize the mineral content of the cultures. Gold-coated samples were used for high-resolution imaging. Biomineralization was noted in unconditioned cultures exposed to HCaP while the controls (cells only in media and HCaP only in media) showed no mineralization. Calcium phosphate plate-like structures were identified adjacent to cells expressing calcium phosphate containing vesicles. These structures are similar to the organophosphate crystals seen in other published works. Plate-like crystals were noted in the larger membrane vesicles of SaOS-2 cells indicating the occurrence of cellularly mediated biomineralization.