Hydrophilic matrices to be used as bioactive and degradable bone cements

Two different hydrophilic systems were investigated regarding their suitability to be used as enzymatically degradable and highly bioactive bone cements. They contained either acrylic acid (AA) or 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) as the hydrophilic monomer. Swelling, degradation, mechanical and bioactivity tests were employed to characterise their behaviour. Although both of the systems were very hydrophilic, only the one containing HEMA was able to form an apatite-like layer on its surface. Moreover, this system could be degraded by amylolytic enzymes at a rate easily controlled by the incorporation of different amounts of enzyme to the formulation, as shown by the evolution of the mechanical properties, weight loss and glucose concentration in the solution. These results show these novel systems have a great potential to induce bone ingrowth inside the pores created during the degradation of the material, therefore establishing a strong interface with the tissue. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.