Bone is a highly vascularized tissue with a unique and complex structure. Long bone consists of a peripheral cortical shell containing a network of channels for vascular penetration and an inner highly vascularized bone marrow space. Bioprinting is a powerful tool to enable rapid and precise spatial patterning of cells and biomaterials. Here we developed a two-step digital light processing technique to fabricate a bone-mimetic 3D hydrogel construct based on octacalcium phosphate (OCP), spheroids of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), and gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogels. The bone-mimetic 3D hydrogel construct was designed to consist of a peripheral OCP-containing GelMA ring to mimic the cortical shell, and a central GelMA ring containing HUVEC spheroids to mimic the bone marrow space. We further demonstrate that OCP, which is evenly embedded in the GelMA, stimulates the osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. We refined the design of a spheroid culture device to facilitate the rapid formation of a large number of HUVEC spheroids, which were embedded into different concentrations of GelMA hydrogels. It is shown that the concentration of GelMA modulates the extent of formation of the capillary-like structures originating from the HUVEC spheroids. This cell-loaded hydrogel-based bone construct with a biomimetic dual ring structure can be potentially used for bone tissue engineering.

Octacalcium phosphate (OCP) is a material that can be converted to hydroxyapatite (HA) under physiological environments and is considered a mineral precursor to bone apatite crystals. The structure of OCP consists of apatite layers stacked alternately with hydrated layers, and closely resembles the structure of HA. The performance of OCP as a bone substitute differs from that of HA materials in terms of their osteoconductivity and biodegradability. OCP manifests a cellular phagocytic response through osteoclast-like cells similar to that exhibited by the biodegradable material β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP). The use of OCP for human cranial bone defects involves using its granule or composite form with one of the natural polymers, viz., the reconstituted collagen. This review article discusses the differences and similarities in these calcium phosphate (Ca-P)-based materials from the viewpoint of the structure and their material chemistry, and attempts to elucidate why Ca-P materials, particularly OCP, display unique osteoconductive property.

The present study was designed to determine whether the osteoconductivity of octacalcium phosphate–collagen (OCP/Col) composite can be improved by controlling the granule size of OCP. The granules of synthetic OCP, with diameters in the range of 53 to 300, 300 to 500, and 500 to 1000 μm, were used as an inorganic source of composite materials mixed with atelo-Col. After vacuum dehydrothemal treatment, OCP/Col disks were implanted into critical-sized calvaria defects in Wistar rats for 4, 8, and 12 weeks and examined radiographically, histologically, histomorphometrically, and histochemically. The materials were characterized according to mercury intrusion porosimetry and scanning electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction was performed before and after implantation. The dissolution of OCP crystals in a Col matrix was determined by immersing OCP/Col disks in a culture medium. OCP/Col had a constant pore size (∼30 μm) regardless of OCP granule size. OCP in the Col matrix tended to convert to hydroxyapatite (HA) during the implantation. OCP/Col with the smallest granules of OCP enhances both bone regeneration and biodegradation the most through tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive osteoclastic cellular resorption of OCP granules. The smallest OCP granules in the Col matrix showed the highest dissolution and had the greatest potential to form HA. The results indicated that the size of the included OCP granules can controll the osteoconductivity of OCP/Col. The overall results suggest that the physicochemical property of OCP crystals is a factor that determines the bone regenerative capacity of OCP/Col in critical-sized calvaria large bone defects in rats.