EVALUATION OF THE CELL CYTOTOXICITY OF β-TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE DOPED WITH VANADIUM IONS

Tricalcium phosphate doped with a small amount of both V(III) and V(V) ions (V-β-TCPV) was successfully prepared using a solid-state reaction, and its in vitro cell cytotoxicity was investigated using V79 cells. We found that the V(III) ion was substituted for a Ca ion at the Ca(5) site located in the β-Ca3(PO4)2 (β-TCP) crystal structure and that the V(V) ion was substituted for a P ion in the PO4 group of the β-TCP crystal structure. The cell cytotoxicity of the V-β-TCPVs increased gradually with increasing amounts of vanadium ion doping. The β-TCP doped with 1.0 mol% vanadium ions showed low toxicity. V-β-TCPVs doped with a small amount of vanadium ions are expected to be significant new implant biomaterials. (Received June 14, 2012; Accepted June 20, 2012)