In vivo and in vitro response to a gelatin/α-tricalcium phosphate bone cement

We recently developed a new biomimetic calcium phosphate bone cement enriched with gelatin (GEL-CP) which exhibits improved mechanical properties with respect to the control cement (C-CP) and a good response to osteoblast-like cells. In this work, we have extended the investigation to primary culture of osteoblasts derived from normal (N-OB) and osteopenic (O-OB) sheep bones cultured on samples of GEL-CP, and their behavior was compared to that of cells cultured on C-CP as control. Cell morphology, proliferation, and differentiation were evaluated at 3 and 7 days. Preliminary in vivo tests were carried out onto critical size defects in the radius diaphysisof rats.