Porous calcium phosphate cement for alveolar bone regeneration

The present study aimed to provide information on material degradation and subsequent alveolar bone formation, using composites consisting of calcium phosphate cement (CPC) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) with different microsphere morphology (hollow vs dense). In addition to the plain CPC–PLGA composites, loading the microspheres with the growth factors platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) was investigated. A total of four different CPC composites were applied into one-wall mandible bone defects in beagle dogs in order to evaluate them as candidates for alveolar bone regeneration. These composites consisted of CPC and hollow or dense PLGA microspheres, with or without the addition of PDGF–IGF growth factor combination (CPC–hPLGA, CPC–dPLGA, CPC–hPLGAGF, CPC–dPLGAGF). Histological evaluation revealed significantly more bone formation in CPC–dPLGA than in CPC–hPLGA composites. The combination PDGF–IGF enhanced bone formation in CPC–hPLGA materials, but significantly more bone formation occurred when CPC–dPLGA was used, with or without the addition of growth factors. The findings demonstrated that CPC–dPLGA composite was the biologically superior material for use as an off-the-shelf material, due to its good biocompatibility, enhanced degradability and superior bone formation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.