Both tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and alumina have been extensively studied and shown to have high biocompatibility. Tricalcium phosphate has improved biodegradability and a higher solubility than hydroxyapatite. In contrast, alumina (Al(2)O(3)) is almost completely inert at physiological conditions and has been used as a biomaterial due to its wear resistance, high surface finish, and excellent hardness. Thus, the combination of these two implants would result in greater biocompatibility and phenotype maintenance. A polyurethane (PU) foam replica method was employed in this study to coat TCP on an alumina scaffold. The TCP-coated alumina scaffold was then sintered to generate a porous surface morphology. The pore sizes obtained using this approach ranged between 100-600 µm, which is ideal for cellular proliferation. The cytotoxicity, cellular proliferation, differentiation, and ECM deposition on the coated scaffold resulted in longer-term viability of osteogenic markers compared to the non-coated scaffold. Moreover, the osteogenic properties of porous TCP-coated Al(2)O(3) scaffolds were reported in this study using rabbit models. The TCP/Al(2)O( 3) scaffold and control Al(2)O(3) scaffolds were implanted in the rabbit femur. The bone tissue response was analyzed with micro-computed tomography (micro CT) at 12 and 24 weeks after implantation. The porous scaffolds exhibited favorable hard and soft tissue responses at both time points. At 24 weeks, a three-fold increase in bone tissue ingrowth was observed in defects containing TCP-coated Al(2)O(3) scaffolds compared to control Al(2)O(3) scaffolds.

Calcium phosphate ceramics such as hydroxy apatite (HA), β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and bicalcium phosphate (BCP) have been used as a bone graft biomaterial because of their good biocompatibility and similarity of chemical composition to natural bones. To increase the mechanical and osteoconductive properties, the granules and spongy type porous bone graft substitutes were prepared by fibrous monolithic process and polyurethane foam replica methods, respectively. The pore sizes obtained using these approaches ranged between 100-600 µm. The cytotoxicity, cellular proliferation, differentiation and ECM deposition on the bone graft substitutes were observed by SEM and confocal microscopy. Moreover, the scaffolds were implanted in the rabbit femur. New bone formation and biodegradation of bone graft were observed through follow-up X-ray, micro-CT analysis and histological findings. After several months (2, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months) of implantation, new bone formation and ingrowths were observed in defect sites of the animal by CaP ceramics and 2 to 3 times higher bone ingrowths were confirmed than that of the normal trabecular bones in terms of total bone volume (BV).