SURFACE PROPERTIES AND ION RELEASE FROM FLUORIDE-CONTAINING BIOACTIVE GLASSES PROMOTE OSTEOBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND MINERALISATION IN VITRO

• Published in: Acta biomaterialia Vol. 9; no. 3; pp. 5771 - 5779
• Main Authors: Gentleman, E, Stevens, M M, Hill, R G, Brauer, D S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2013
• Subjects: Biocompatibility; Biomedical materials; Bones; Differentiation; Fluorides; Glass; In vitro testing; Markers
• ISSN: 1742-7061

Bioactive glasses (BG) are suitable for bone regeneration applications as they bond with bone and can be tailored to release therapeutic ions. Fluoride, widely recognised as preventing dental caries, helps to promote bone formation and prevent osteoporosis-related fractures when administered at appropriate doses. To take advantage of these properties, BG incorporating increasing levels of fluoride whilst holding their silicate structure constant were created, and their effects tested on human osteoblasts in vitro. The results show that, whilst cell proliferation was highest on low-fluoride-containing BG, markers for differentiation and mineralisation were highest on BG with the highest fluoride contents, probably due to a combination of surface effects and ion release. Furthermore, osteoblasts exposed to the dissolution products of fluoride-containing BG or early doses of sodium fluoride showed increased alkaline phosphatase activity, a marker for bone mineralisation, suggesting that fluoride can direct osteoblast differentiation. These results suggest that BG that can release therapeutic levels of fluoride may have use in a range of bone regeneration applications.