Faculty Bibliography

Osteopenia and osteoporosis affect over 40 million US adults 50 years and older. Both diseases are strongly influenced by estrogen and nutritional-mineral deficiencies. This study investigates the efficacy of orally delivered synthetic-bone-mineral (SBM), a newly developed calcium phosphate based biomaterial, on reversing bone loss induced by these two critical deficiencies. Thirty 3-month-old female rats were randomly allocated to either control-sham surgery on normal diet; or one of the four experimental groups: Sham surgery on a low mineral diet (LMD), ovariectomized (OVX) on LMD, OVX on LMD with SBM with/without fluoride (F). The rats were sacrificed after 6 months, at 9-month-old. After 6 months, although all groups lost bone mineral density relative to controls, the supplemented OVX rats showed higher bone mineral density than their unsupplemented counterparts. The 2 SBM supplemented groups improved bone loading capacity by 28.1 and 35.4% compared to the OVX LMD group. Bones from supplemented rats exhibited higher inorganic/organic ratios. The addition of F did not have a significant influence on bone loss. Our findings suggest that SBM supplement is effective in maintaining bone health and offsetting the deleterious effects of estrogen and/or mineral deficiencies on bone density, microarchitecture, and strength.

This work describes the kinetics of conversion of brushite coatings, produced by chemical deposition, to hydroxyapatite. The conversion was performed in alkaline solution at three temperatures: 50 °C, 55 °C, and 60 °C. The evolution of the transformation was assessed by X-ray diffraction, and the phase fractions were determined by Rietveld refinement. The Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation was applied to the data in order to describe the conversion mechanisms. The value of 42 kJ/mol obtained for the conversion activation energy is of the same order as found in similar surface-controlled dissolution processes. The Avrami exponent was n = 3.5, which is consistent with an interface-controlled growth of three-dimensional HA crystals with decreasing nucleation rate.

Nowadays, bioactive coatings or modifications on titanium surface have been tested in vitro and in vivo. In this study, two types of calcium phosphate coatings were produced by a chemical deposition method and their bioactivity assay in cell culture medium were investigated. The calcium phosphate coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy with field emission gun (FEG-SEM) analyses. Titanium substrate was successfully coated with brushite using chemical deposition method and, after a second step of conversion, the hydroxyapatite coating was obtained. The hydroxyapatite coating showed a bioactivity property after 14 days' incubation in McCoy medium culture

The increasing interest in the use of brushite and monetite as resorbable calcium phosphate cements or graft materials is related to the fact of these phases being metastable under physiological environment, with higher solubility than hydroxyapatite phase. In this study, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy with field emission gun (FEG-SEM) analyses were performed in order to assess the temperature influence on the production of calcium phosphate coatings by a chemical deposition method. Titanium substrates were successfully coated with brushite and monetite by a chemical deposition method and a brushite-monetite transformation was assessed with the increasing temperature. Brushite deposition was kinetically favored at low temperatures, whereas monetite was the major phase at higher temperatures

In this work, two solutions were developed: the first, rich in Ca2+, PO43- ions and the second, rich in Ca2+, PO43- and Mg2+, defined as Mg-modified precursor solution. For each Mg-modified precursor solution, the concentrations of Mg2+ ions were progressively increased by 5%, 10% and 15%wt. The aims of this research were to investigate the influence of magnesium ions substitution in calcium phosphate coatings on titanium surface and to evaluate these coatings by bioactivity assay in McCoy culture medium. The obtained coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, and the presence of Mg ions was confirmed by the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP) analysis. In vitro bioactivity assay in McCoy culture medium showed bioactivity after 14days in incubation for the HA and 10% Mg-monetite coatings. The high chemical stability of Mg-HA coatings was verified by the bioactivity assays, and no bone-like apatite deposition, characteristic of bioactivity, was observed for Mg-HA coatings, for the time period used in this study.

The present animal study investigated whether oral intake of synthetic bone mineral (SBM) improves peri-implant bone formation and bone micro architecture (BMA). SBM was used as an intervention experimental diet and AIN-93M was used as a control. The SBM was prepared by mixing dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (CaHPO4.2H2O) and magnesium and zinc chlorides (MgCl2 and ZnCl2, respectively), and hydrolyzed in double-distilled water containing dissolved potassium carbonate and sodium fluoride. All rats were randomly allocated into one of two groups: a control group was fed without SBM (n = 18) or an experimental group was fed with SBM (n = 18), at seven weeks old. At 9 weeks old, all rats underwent implant surgery on their femurs under general anesthesia. The implant was inserted into the insertion socket prepared at rats' femur to a depth of 2.5 mm by using a drill at 500 rpm. Nine rats in each group were randomly selected and euthanized at 2 weeks after implantation. The remaining nine rats in each group continued their diets, and were euthanized in the same manner at 4 weeks after implantation. The femur, including the implant, was removed from the body and implant was pulled out by an Instron universal testing machine. After the implant removal, BMA was evaluated by bone surface ratio (BS/BV), bone volume fraction (BV/TV), trabecular thickness (TbTh), trabecular number (TbN), trabecular star volume (Vtr), and micro-CT images. BS/BV, BV/TV, TbTh and Vtr were significantly greater in the rats were fed with SBM than those were fed without SBM at 2 and 4 weeks after implantation (P < 0.05). The present results revealed that SBM improves the peri-implant formation and BMA, prominent with trabecular bone structure. The effect of SBM to improve secondary stability of the implant, and shortening the treatment period should be investigated in the future study.

Calcium and other trace mineral supplements have previously demonstrated to safely improve bone quality. We hypothesize that our novel calcium-phosphate based biomaterial (SBM) preserves and promotes mandibular bone formation in male and female rats on mineral deficient diet (MD). Sixty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to receive one of three diets (n = 10): basic diet (BD), MD or mineral deficient diet with 2% SBM. Rats were sacrificed after 6 months. Micro-Computed Tomography (microCT) was used to evaluate bone volume and 3D-microarchitecture while microradiography (Faxitron) was used to measure bone mineral density from different sections of the mandible. Results showed that bone quality varied with region, gender and diet. MD reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and volume and increased porosity. SBM preserved BMD and bone mineral content (BMC) in the alveolar bone and condyle in both genders. In the alveolar crest and mandibular body, while preserving more bone in males, SBM also significantly supplemented female bone. Results indicate that mineral deficiency leads to low bone mass in skeletally immature rats, comparatively more in males. Furthermore, SBM administered as a dietary supplement was effective in preventing mandibular bone loss in all subjects. This study suggests that the SBM preparation has potential use in minimizing low peak bone mass induced by mineral deficiency and related bone loss irrespective of gender