Innovative Bioinspired Sic Ceramics From Vegetable Resources

Bioinspired silicon carbide (SiC) ceramics is a very promising material for bone tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications, due to its outstanding mechanical properties, interconnected hierarchic porosity, and biocompatible behavior. This innovative material is derived from vegetable resources, as woods, algae, and plants, following a ceramization process based on the molten-Si infiltration of carbon templates obtained by controlled pyrolysis of vegetable precursors. The final SiC ceramics retains the combined macro- and microporosity of the original vegetable structure, which resembles the natural hierarchical structure of bone tissue.The in vitro biocompatibility of the SiC ceramics obtained from sapelli wood (Entandrophragma cylindricum) was evaluated by using the preosteoblastic cell line MC3T3-E1. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) demonstrate that cells seeded onto the SiC ceramics were able to attach, spread, and proliferate properly with the maintenance of the typical osteoblastic morphology throughout the time of culture. Alizarin Red staining and quantification revealed a higher and earlier level of differentiation on SiC ceramics than on tissue culture polystyrene (TCP) used as reference. These results demonstrate that the porous and hierarchical microstructure of SiC promotes the differentiation of osteoblastic cells.