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Strontium (Sr) and Magnesium (Mg) are bioactive ions that have been proven to exert a beneficial effect on bone; therefore, their incorporation into bone substitutes has long been viewed as a possible approach to improve tissue integration. However, the thermal instability of Mg-substituted hydroxyapatites has hitherto limited development. We previously described the creation of thermally consolidated porous constructs of Mg,Sr co-substituted apatites with adequate mechanical properties for their clinical use. The present paper describes the biocompatibility of Mg,Sr co-substituted granules using an alveolar-bone-derived primary model of human osteoblasts. Cells were cultured in the presence of different amounts of hydroxyapatite (HA), Sr-substituted HA, or MgSrHA porous macrogranules (with a size of 400–600 microns, obtained by grinding and sieving the sintered scaffolds) for three and seven days, and their viability was measured by a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Protein content was measured using the Lowry assay at the same time points. Cell viability was not impaired by any of the tested compounds. Indirect and direct biocompatibility of these macrogranules was assessed by culturing cells in a previously conditioned medium with HA, SrHA, or MgSrHA, or in the presence of material granules. Osteoblasts formed larger and more numerous nodules around SrHA or MgSrHA granules. Furthermore, cell differentiation was evaluated by alkaline phosphatase staining of primary cells cultured in the presence of HA, SrHA, or MgSrHA granules, confirming the increased osteoconductivity of the doped materials. Full article

Bone substitute materials require specific properties to make them suitable for implantation, such as biocompatibility and resistance to mechanical loads. Mg,Sr-cosubstituted hydroxyapatite (MgSr-HA) is a promising bone scaffold candidate because its structure is similar to the native bone matrix. However, MgSr-HA materials do not typically withstand thermal treatments over 800 °C, because Mg promotes HA degradation to less stable tricalcium phosphate, a compound that, albeit biocompatible, is not found in bone. We, therefore, designed an ion-exchange process to enrich sintered Sr-HA with Mg and obtain MgSr-HA porous constructs. These materials contained a 0.04–0.08 Mg/Ca molar ratio and a 0.12–0.13 Sr/Ca molar ratio, and had up to 20 MPa of compressive strength, suitable for use as bone fillers or scaffolds. Unlike previous synthetic Mg,Sr-substituted apatite powders, the proposed process did not degrade HA and thus preserved its similarity to bone structure. The obtained material thus combines the presence of bioactive Mg and Sr ions in the HA lattice with a 3D morphological/structural organization that can be customized in pore size and distribution, as well as in mechanical strength, thus potentially covering a wide range of clinical applications. Full article