Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 May 14.
Published in final edited form as: J Mater Chem B. 2020 May 14;8(18):3972–3984. doi: 10.1039/d0tb00116c

Table 1.

Characteristics and applications of osteogenic microcarriers.

Microcarrier bulk materials Diameter (μm) Bone progenitor cells Target (in-vitro/in-vivo)
Dextran (Cytodex-1,2,3) and gelatin (Cytodex-2,3) 150–250 Osteoblasts, osteoblast precursor cells, MC3T3-E1 cells, fetal rat calvarial cells, rat bone MSC In-vitro static and dynamic (high aspect ratio vessel) culture
Chitosan and hydroxyapatite 220–710 MC3T3-E1 cells In-vitro static culture
Pullulan and silk-fibroin 100–215 Human osteosarcoma SaOS-2 cells In-vitro static and dynamic (orbital shaker) culture
Gelatin (Cultispher-S, etc.) and α-tricalcium phosphate, hydroxyapatite, or silk-fibroin 20–652.3 UMR-106 rat osteosarcoma cells, rat bone MSC, rat ear MSC, SaOS-2 cells, human osteosarcoma MG-63 cells, mouse bone MSC, MC3T3-E1 cells In-vitro static, poly(lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) scaffold, and dynamic (spinner flask) culture; In-vivo rat subcutaneous site, long-bone defect, and periodontal defect
Type I Collagen (Cellagen®, etc.) and hydroxyapatite, α-tricalcium phosphate, calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite, apatite 30–1038 Human and rat osteoblasts, SaOS-2 cells, rat bone MSC, human MSC In-vitro dynamic (spinner flask) and static culture; In-vivo rat calvarial defect and rabbit femoral defect
Calcium silicate 241 MC3T3-E1 cells In-vitro static culture
45S5 Bioglass and polylactic acid or poly(lactic-co-caprolactone) 100–432 Rat bone MSC, MC3T3-E1 cells In-vitro dynamic (rotating-wall or high aspect ratio vessel) and static culture
Phosphate-based (0.4P2O5:0.16CaO:0.175–0.2Na2O:0.24MgO:0–0.025Ti) glass 100–200 Autologous bone marrow concentrate cells In-vivo sheep knee bone defect
Calcium titanium phosphate and alginate 50–796 Rat bone MSC, MG-63 cells In-vitro static and dynamic (spinner flask) culture
Hydroxyapatite and alginate, α-tricalcium phosphate, or β-tricalcium phosphate 100–749 MG-63 cells, goat MSC, MC3T3-E1 cells, human osteoblastic cells, human bone and adipose MSC In-vitro static culture; In-vivo mouse subcutaneous site, mouse calvarial defect, mouse mandibular defect, rabbit calvarial defect
α-Tricalcium phosphate and alginate 100–500 MC3T3-E1 cells In-vitro static culture
Polystyrene and type I collagen 125–212 Human placental multipotent cells, human embryonic stem cell-derived MSC, bone MSC, mouse MSC (C3H10T1/2) In-vitro static culture
Polylactic acid 150–250 MG-63 cells In-vitro static culture
Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) and hydroxyapatite, calcium carbonate, or polyphosphate 50–860 Mouse osteoblast-like OCT-1 cells, SaOS-2 cells, rat osteoblasts, human MSC In-vitro static and dynamic (high aspect ratio vessel) culture; In-vivo mouse subcutaneous site and rat calvarial defect