Osteoconductivity and biodegradation of synthetic bone substitutes with different tricalcium phosphate contents in rabbits

Various synthetic bone substitutes have been developed to reconstruct the bony defects that clinicians often encounter during surgical procedures. Among various synthetic bone substitutes, calcium phosphate (Ca-P) ceramics have been investigated because their composition and structure are similar to those of human bone. We evaluated the bone healing and biodegradation patterns of three types of Ca-P ceramic particle with various hydroxyapatite (HA)/β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) weight ratio: pure β-TCP, biphasic Ca-P (BCP) with a HA/β-TCP weight ratio of 60/40 (BCP 60/40), and BCP with an HA/β-TCP weight ratio of 20/80 (BCP 20/80). Four 8-mm-diameter defects were created in ten rabbits. Three of the defects in each rabbit were separately and randomly filled with one of the three experimental Ca-P ceramic particles, and the fourth was filled with blood clots (control). The specimens were harvested at 2 and 8 weeks post-surgery. The histologic and histometric findings revealed that the augmented space and new bone formation were significantly better for all three Ca-P ceramics than for the control group at both 2 and 8 weeks (p < 0.05). Compared to the pure β-TCP, the two BCP groups were found to provide a larger amount of newly formed bone and bone density at the 2- and 8-week post-operative periods (p < 0.05). Throughout the observation period, BCP 60/40 and BCP 20/80 exhibited a similar bone healing and biodegradation patterns with regard to both individual particles and the total augmented area in vivo.