Novel Nanocrystal Clay Materials with Potential Bone Cells Growth Enhancement or Inhibition Characteristics <i>In Vitro</i>

The application of clay nanocrystals in healing has gained notoriety in recent years. The objective of this work was to investigate whether two medical clay nanocrystals obtained from different geographical locations could exhibit differential cell growth. X-ray diffraction analyses of both nanocrystal materials revealed orthorhombic chamosite structure with lattice parameters: a =15 Å, b= 8 Å and c=7 Å whereas energy dispersive x-ray results showed the presence of Al, Si, Fe and O in both materials. However the porosity measurements of the two materials revealed different pore structures. Both materials were tested on human fetal osteoblast cells and the results showed differential cell growth in vitro. The results underscore the significance of pore structures in cell response as against the chemical composition or the structure of the material. Future mechanistic evaluation would be conducted to better understand the pathways leading to the increased/decrease osteoblast adhesion and proliferation by these materials and possible modification of the clay materials for biomedical applications.