The addition of dopants in biomaterials has emerged as a critical regulator of bone formation and regeneration due to their imminent role in the biological process. The present work evaluated the role of strontium (Sr) and magnesium (Mg) dopants in brushite cement (BrC) on in vivo bone healing performance in a rabbit model. Pure, 1 wt% SrO (Sr-BrC), 1 wt% MgO (Mg-BrC), and a binary composition of 1.0 wt% SrO + 1.0 wt% MgO (Sr + Mg-BrC) BrCs were implanted into critical-sized tibial defects in rabbits for up to 4 months. The in vivo bone healing of three doped and pure BrC samples was examined and compared using sequential radiological examination, histological evaluations, and fluorochrome labeling studies. The results indicated excellent osseous tissue formation for Sr-BrC and Sr + Mg-BrC and moderate bone regeneration for Mg-BrC compared to pure BrC. Our findings indicated that adding small amounts of SrO, MgO, and binary dopants to the BrC can significantly influence new bone formation for bone tissue engineering.
Keywords: bioceramics; bone disorders; brushite cement; calcium phosphate; dopants.
© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.