Stimulating effect of silica-containing nanospheres on proliferation of osteoblast-like cells.

Silica and silica-based materials have been found widespread application for medical purposes, especially in the fields of bone tissue engineer. Nano-sized silica has been developed too and been considered to be used in bone regeneration. In this study, we observed the biological response of osteoblast-like cells to three kinds of silica nanospheres: SNs-A (30-40 nm), SNs-B (70-80 nm), and Silica/OCP (70-80 nm). Cells treated with three kinds of nanospheres always showed higher cell viability than control cells. ALP activity of cells treated with three kinds of silica nanospheres was higher than that of control cells at early time. Both of the two effects were not in a concentration-dependent manner. Silica/OCP had better effect on MG-63 cell activity and proliferation than SNs-A and SNs-B. The three kinds of silica nano material all have biological validity on osteoblast-like cells, especially Silica/OCP.