Influence of particle size of hydroxyapatite as a capping agent on cell proliferation of cultured fibroblasts.

The influence of particle size of biomaterials on cell reaction and cell proliferation was studied by means of coculturing fibroblasts with calcium phosphate ceramics. Both dense and porous hydroxyapatite ceramics obtained under different sintering conditions were selected, and two particle sizes of 300 and 40 micrometers were used to examine cell reaction. The four materials were each cocultured with dental pulp-derived fibroblasts for 7 days. Cell reaction was observed by phase-contrast microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Cell proliferation was measured by counting the number of trypsinized cells in 7-day-old culture. On the seventh day, the dense 300-micrometer particles of hydroxyapatite were completely covered by cultured cells that had proliferated on the dish surface. On the other hand, the porous and dense 40-micrometer particles were captured or gathered by the cultured cells, which seemed not to proliferate. The porous 300-micrometer particles were accompanied by numerous small broken pieces on the dish surface, and the cells proliferated only around the large particles. From these results, the dense 300-micrometer particles of hydroxyapatite can be considered the most appropriate biomaterial.