Abstract
Maximizing vital bone in a grafted site is dependent on a number of factors. These include resorption or turnover of the graft material, stimulation of bone formation pathway without a need for biological molecules added to the site and inhibition of cellular activities that compromise the mineralization of new bone matrix. In the present study, the dissolution profile of silica-calcium phosphate composite (SCPC) in physiological solution was measured and the data were fed to (ANN-NARX) prediction model to predict the time required for complete dissolution. The inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer ionic composition analysis of the culture medium incubated for 3 days with SCPC showed 57% decrease in Ca concentration and a significant increase in the concentration of Si (13.5 +/- 1.8 mu g/ml), P (249.4 +/- 22 mu g/ml), and Na (9.3 +/- 0.52 mu g/ml). In conjunction with the release of Si, P, and Na ions, the bone resorptive activity of osteoclasts was inhibited as indicated by the significant decrease in multinucleated tartrate resistant acidic phosphate stained cells and the volume of resorption pits on bone slices. In contrast, addition of SCPC to hBMSC cultured in conventional medium promoted higher Runt-related transcription factor 2 (p < .05), osteocalcin (p < .01), and bone sialo protein (p < .01) than that expressed by control cells grown in the absence of SCPC. The predicted dissolution time of 200 mg of porous SCPC particles in 10 ml phosphate buffered saline is 6.9 months. An important byproduct of the dissolution is inhibition of osteoclastic activity and promotion of osteoblastic differentiation and hence bone formation.