Papers by Author: Tsutomu Furuzono

Abstract: Hydroxyapatite (HAp) has unique properties for biomaterials such as hard-tissue-compatible material for bone and tooth and also soft-tissue-compatible materials for skin tissue. However, the hard and brittle nature of HAp limits spreading many medical devices. Recently, a unique composite of sintered HAp nano-crystals -- ceramics -- covalently coupled to polymer substrates was developed -- Nano-Ceramic Coating --. The development was depended on the two original technologies: (1) control of size/morphology of high-dispersed sintered nano-HAp, (2) donation of covalent bonding between nano-HAp and substrates to coat strongly on the surface. The nano-composite material holds not only the mechanical properties of the substrate but also biological properties of the ceramics coated on the surface. In this report, the method of synthesis of high-dispersed nano-HAp, the preparation of the nano-composite, the biological properties with cells or animal tissue, and especially, the development of medical devices, such as percutaneous device or blood vessel and so on, made of the composite will be presented.

Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate cell adhesion and proliferation on the hydroxyapatite (HAp)-coated silk fibroin (SF) fabric. Nano-scaled sintered HAp particles were covalently coated on SF chemically modified by graft polymerization. After the fabrication of the HAp/SF composite, mesenchymal cells (MCs) derived from EGFP-expressing transgenic rat bone marrow were seeded on the composite and cultured for 10 days. Fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the cells adhered and actively proliferated on the composites comparable to those on tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) dishes. The results suggest that the composites are suitable for mesenchymal cell culture scaffolds and useful materials for regenerative medicine.