July Andrea Rincón López

The ability of silicate-calcium-phosphates phases to rapidly generate a union with bone, where reactions occur in minutes, has been attributed to the role of silicon on the surface, and subsequent crystallization of carbonated hydroxyapatite. The newly formed carbonated hydroxyapatite acts as anchor matrix for cell adhesion, proliferation and collagen formation. On the other hand, silicon seems to be involved in the early stages of bone calcification encouraging the adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of osteoblast cells [1]. Based on this, this thesis work is focused on 3D printing additive manufacturing technique which will allow the development of cellular structures of silicate-calcium-phosphates phases with synergistic combination between the biological and mechanical performances. The initial step involves the evaluation of the biological behavior of these phases as dense ceramics to later understand the effect of the different pore geometries and % porosity on cell response.

[1] I. D. Xynos, A. J. Edgar, L. D. K. Buttery, L. L. Hench, and J. M. Polak, “Gene-expression profiling of human osteoblasts following treatment with the ionic products of Bioglass® 45S5 dissolution,” J. Biomed. Mater. Res., vol. 55, 2, 151–157, 2001.