Designing a novel CaO–MgO–SiO2-based multiphase bioceramic with adjustable ion dissolution behavior for enhancing osteogenesis

Abstract

Many bioactive inorganic ions such as calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and silicon (Si) have been confirmed to take part in bone regeneration through promoting the secretion of osteogenesis-related growth factors. However, it is not clear about the effective concentration range and action mechanism of ion combinations on synergistically facilitating osteogenesis. Besides, it is of great significance to design a novel bioceramic that could continuously release these effective inorganic ions to match the need for bone tissue repair. Thus, in this work, the concentration level of combined Ca, Mg, Si ions beneficial to osteogenesis of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) was explored by orthogonal experimental design (OED) firstly. Meanwhile, eight single-phase ceramics in CaO–MgO–SiO2 system were synthesized, and the influences of their inherent properties on ion dissolution behaviors were systematically investigated. Finally, based on the above results, three multiphase bioceramics (named C1, C2 and C3) containing calcium silicate, diopside and akermanite as crystalline phase were designed and synthesized. It was found that the ionic extracts of bioceramic C1 were just within the above effective concentration range, displaying a predetermined ability of stimulating osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs through enhancing the expression of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). All the results indicated that this novel multiphase bioceramic with adjustable ion dissolution behavior has a great application potential in bone tissue engineering.