Abstract
We have fabricated dense HAp ceramics with preferred orientation to a-plane using single-crystal apatite fibers (AF) and apatite gels (AG). Cellular differentiation of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells to the above-mentioned HAp ceramics was examined by a reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction method (RT-PCR). The results of RT-PCR showed that the cells cultured on the a-plane HAp ceramics were expressed the mRNA concerning for osteocalcin at 3 and 5 days of cell culture, as comparing with those of isotropic HAp ceramics. The above results indicate that the a-plane HAp ceramics have a good differentiation-inducing ability into osteoblasts.
