This aim of this research was to develop a novel ceramic scaffold to evaluate the response of bone after ceramic implantation in New Zealand (NZ) rabbits. Ceramics were prepared by the polymer replication method and inserted into NZ rabbits. Macroporous scaffolds with interconnected round-shaped pores (0.5–1.5 mm = were prepared). The scaffold acted as a physical support where cells with osteoblastic capability were found to migrate, develop processes, and newly immature and mature bone tissue colonized on the surface (initially) and in the material’s interior. The new ceramic induced about 62.18% ± 2.28% of new bone and almost complete degradation after six healing months. An elemental analysis showed that the gradual diffusion of Ca and Si ions from scaffolds into newly formed bone formed part of the biomaterial’s resorption process. Histological and radiological studies demonstrated that this porous ceramic scaffold showed biocompatibility and excellent osteointegration and osteoinductive capacity, with no interposition of fibrous tissue between the implanted material and the hematopoietic bone marrow interphase, nor any immune response after six months of implantation. No histological changes were observed in the various organs studied (para-aortic lymph nodes, liver, kidney and lung) as a result of degradation products being released.

The subsystem Nurse’s A-phase-silicocarnotite within the system Ca₃(PO₄)₂–Ca₂SiO₄ was conducted as a preliminary step toward obtaining new biomaterials with controlled microstructures. Phase composition of the resulting ceramics was studied by X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and scanning electron microscopy with attached wavelength dispersive spectroscopy. The results showed that the sub-system presents an invariant eutectoid point at 1366 ± 4 °C with a composition of 59.5 wt % Ca₃(PO₄)₂ and 40.5 wt % Ca₂SiO₄, and typical eutectoid microstructure of lamellae morphology. These results are in disagreement with the previous reported data, which locate the invariant eutectoid point at 1250 ± 20 °C with a composition of 55 wt % Ca₃(PO₄)₂ and 45 wt % Ca₂SiO₄. In addition, cell attachment testing showed that the new eutectoid material supported the mesenchymal stem cell adhesion and spreading, and the cells established close contact with the ceramic after 28 days of culture. These findings indicate that the new ceramic material with eutectoid microstructure of lamellae morphology possesses good bioactivity and biocompatibility and might be a promising bone implant material.

The aim of this study was to manufacture and evaluate the effect of a biphasic calcium silicophosphate (CSP) scaffold ceramic, coated with a natural demineralized bone matrix (DBM), to evaluate the efficiency of this novel ceramic material in bone regeneration. The DBM-coated CSP ceramic was made by coating a CSP scaffold with gel DBM, produced by the partial sintering of different-sized porous granules. These scaffolds were used to reconstruct defects in rabbit tibiae, where CSP scaffolds acted as the control material. Micro-CT and histological analyses were performed to evaluate new bone formation at 1, 3, and 5 months post-surgery. The present research results showed a correlation among the data obtained by micro-CT and the histomorphological results, the gradual disintegration of the biomaterial, and the presence of free scaffold fragments dispersed inside the medullary cavity occupied by hematopoietic bone marrow over the 5-month study period. No difference was found between the DBM-coated and uncoated implants. The new bone tissue inside the implants increased with implantation time. Slightly less new bone formation was observed in the DBM-coated samples, but it was not statistically significant. Both the DBM-coated and the CSP scaffolds gave excellent bone tissue responses and good osteoconductivity.