Development of a New Composite Bone Cement as a Bone Substitute for Vertebroplasty

A new composite bone cement designated ‘G2B1’ was developed for percutaneous transpedicular vertebroplasty. G2B1 contains beta tricalcium phosphate particles and methylmethacrylate –methylacrylate copolymer as the powder components, and methylmethacrylate, urethane dimethacrylate, and tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate as the liquid components. Osteoconductivity and histological changes with time were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, contact microradiography, and Giemsa surface staining 4, 8, 12, 26, and 52 weeks after implantation into rat tibiae. To evaluate osteoconductivity, affinity indices (%) were calculated. Scanning electron microscopy and contact microradiography revealed that bone contact with G2B1 was attained within 4 weeks (affinity index: 50.2 ± 11.8 at 4 weeks) and at most of the margin within 26 weeks (affinity index: 87.4 ± 7.2 at 26 weeks). Giemsa surface staining showed that there was almost no inflammatory reaction around the G2B1. These results indicate that G2B1 is a biocompatible and highly osteoconductive bone cement.

New Bioactive Bone Cement Containing Nano-Sized Titania Particles

Two types of new bioactive polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-based bone cements containing nano−sized titania (TiO2) particles were prepared and evaluated to assess the effect of TiO2 content on their mechanical properties and osteoconductivity. We prepared two types of bioactive bone cement, ST50c and ST60c, which contained 50 wt% silanized TiO2 and 60 wt% silanized TiO2, respectively. Commercially available PMMA cement (PMMAc) was used as a control. The cements were inserted into rat tibiae and solidified in situ. After 6 and 12 weeks, they were taken out for evaluation of osteoconductivity by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact microradiography (CMR) and Giemsa surface staining. SEM revealed that ST60c and ST50c apposed to bone directly while PMMAc did not. The affinity index of ST60c was significantly higher than for the other cements at each time interval. The results showed that ST60c was a promising material, but its mechanical strength should be improved before application in prosthesis fixation.