Calcium Phosphate Cements as Carriers of Functional Substances for the Treatment of Bone Tissue

Materials (Basel). 2023 May 27;16(11):4017. doi: 10.3390/ma16114017.

Abstract

Interest in calcium phosphate cements as materials for the restoration and treatment of bone tissue defects is still high. Despite commercialization and use in the clinic, the calcium phosphate cements have great potential for development. Existing approaches to the production of calcium phosphate cements as drugs are analyzed. A description of the pathogenesis of the main diseases of bone tissue (trauma, osteomyelitis, osteoporosis and tumor) and effective common treatment strategies are presented in the review. An analysis of the modern understanding of the complex action of the cement matrix and the additives and drugs distributed in it in relation to the successful treatment of bone defects is given. The mechanisms of biological action of functional substances determine the effectiveness of use in certain clinical cases. An important direction of using calcium phosphate cements as a carrier of functional substances is the volumetric incorporation of anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antiresorptive and osteogenic functional substances. The main functionalization requirement for carrier materials is prolonged elution. Various release factors related to the matrix, functional substances and elution conditions are considered in the work. It is shown that cements are a complex system. Changing one of the many initial parameters in a wide range changes the final characteristics of the matrix and, accordingly, the kinetics. The main approaches to the effective functionalization of calcium phosphate cements are considered in the review.

Keywords: antibiotics; antitumor drugs; bone tissue; brushite; calcium phosphate cement; functionalization; growth factors; hydroxyapatite; osteomyelitis; treatment.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

This research was carried out within the framework of the state task “Development of technology for obtaining osteoplastic polymer and calcium phosphate materials with a controlled rate of release of antibiotics and targeted pharmaceutical substances for the surgical treatment of purulent processes of bone tissue and prevention of the formation of bacterial biofilms on implantable metal structures”, and was funded by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.