Effect of ß-tcp ceramics on osteogenic cells and bone healing

Healing of bone fractures and defects may be enhanced by a variety of bone grafting materials. Synthetic scaffolds which may replace the traditional autogenous bone graft treatment have become more common in recent years due to ease of use, improvement in patient comfort and the ability to treat large defects. The most commonly used synthetic scaffolds are calcium phosphate ceramics, mainly β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP). Numerous studies have shown that β-TCP is osteoconductive and supports bone healing in vivo. Various types of β-TCP ceramics are in commercial use and in development, exhibiting different physical parameters such as shape, size and porosity. In this chapter we aim at elucidating how these parameters affect cellular activity en-route to bone regeneration. This chapter will analyze the data presented by various studies that characterized the interaction between β-TCP and osteogenic cells, either in vitro or in vivo, the effect of β-TCP on tissue response to the implanted material and the bone healing with respect to gene expression, cell localization and β-TCP resorption. This chapter will contribute to better understanding of bone defect treatment and analyze trends in further development of β-TCP and other calcium phosphate synthetic scaffolds for bone regeneration.