A facile synthesis of apatite nanocrystals analogous to bioapatites with increased biocompatibility and biodegradability can remedy the shortcomings of the widely applied synthetic hydroxyapatite (HAp) for bone defect treatment. Here, we propose an expeditious synthesis method to develop a biomimetic B-type carbonate apatite (CAp) with a simple capillary microfluidic device at room temperature. The process not only eliminates fluctuations with the addition of carbonate but also produces safe CAp drug carriers through simultaneous alendronate incorporation to the CAp structure. CAp displayed superior mineralization on osteoblast-like MG-63 cells when compared with HAp and HAp drug carriers that were produced using identical methods. Furthermore, alendronate-incorporated CAp drug carriers potentially displayed higher cancer cell suppression when applied to breast cancer cells attached to the bone tissue model, which signifies enhanced cancer metastasis to bone suppression due to the likelihood of increased alendronate release of CAp owing to its faster dissolution. Overall, our results may provide promising opportunities for enhanced clinical CAp application for bone defect treatment, particularly for bone loss and cancer to bone metastasis.
Keywords: apatite drug carriers; biomimetic carbonate apatite; cancer cell suppression; cell proliferation and mineralization; flow synthesis; nanocrystal structure and composition.