Effect of monocalcium phosphate on the physical, chemical, mechanical and biological properties of calcium silicate cement: an in vitro study

This study evaluated the effect of monocalcium phosphate (MCP) on the mechanical and biological properties of calcium silicate (CS) cement. Cements composed of CS with different weight ratios (0–40%) of MCP were prepared and their pH and compressive strength were tested using the pH detector and Universal Testing Machine, respectively. Cell viability, migration, mineralisation and differentiation were evaluated using the Cell Counting Kit 8 (CCK-8), Transwell, alkaline phosphatase activity assay, Alizarin Red-S staining and real-time polymerase chain reaction, respectively. With the MCP content increase, the pH of the cements decreased from 11.5 to 8 and the compressive strength decreased from 25.81 to 3.45 MPa. The extracts of cements promoted cell proliferation, migration, osteoblastic differentiation and mineralisation when MCP was 10–20 wt-%. These suggested that MCP powder can regulate the properties of CS cement. Composite cement containing 10–20 wt-% MCP showed improved biocompatibility and mineralisation and promising for bone defect restoration.