Fabricating biodegradable calcium phosphate/calcium sulfate cement reinforced with cellulose:<i>in vitro</i>and<i>in vivo</i>studies

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a growing public health concern worldwide. To avoid extra surgeries, developing biodegradable bone cement is critical for the treatment of osteoporosis. Herein, we designed calcium phosphate/calcium sulfate cement reinforced with sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC/OPC). It presents an appropriate physicochemical performance for clinical handling. Meanwhile, CMC/OPC bone cement promotes osteogenic differentiation <i>in vitro</i>. Results of the immune response <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> confirmed that increasing the cellulose content triggered macrophage switching into the M2 phenotype and CMC/OPC exhibited significant anti-inflammation. Furthermore, <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> degradation demonstrated that cellulose tailors the degradation rate of composite bone cement, which achieved a linear degradation process and could degrade by more than 90% for 12 weeks. In summary, the composite bone cement CMC/OPC is a promising candidate for bone repair applications.