The Effects of SiC Foams on Cell Proliferation and Differentiation in Primary Osteoblasts

The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of silicon carbide (SiC) foam as an alternative material for porous hydroxyapatite (HA). The characters of two materials were evaluated and compared by a series of in vitro biological tests. The result of the morphology showed that SiC foam provided beneficial structure for cell migration. On the level of primary-osteoblasts proliferation measured by MTT assay and cell cycle analysis showed that the proliferation rate increased in the early stage on HA but in the advanced stage on SiC foam. There was no significant difference between the two materials on the level of cell differentiation detected by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assay and real-time PCR. All of the results indicated that SiC foam was comparable to HA in terms of biocompatibility and bone conductivity.