Different materials i.e. natural bone and synthetic biomaterials have been widely used to improve bone repair and regeneration. Even though there is a long tradition in studying and developing various biomaterials, more research is still needed. The aim of this thesis was to compare the physicochemical properties of commonly used bioceramics (hydroxyapatite, carbonate apatite, alumina) and bioactive glasses (45S5, S53P4) and to physicochemically and biologically characterize two new bioceramics in the field of bone repair (silica-modified alumina and functionalized calcium carbonate, FCC).

Physicochemical properties were characterized by various methods. Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) was used to analyze biomaterials’ vibrational features, while the crystal structure was analyzed by X-Ray power Diffraction (XRD) and biomaterials’ morphology and elemental contents were evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy – Energy-Dispersive X-ray Analysis (SEM-EDXA). Dissolution behavior of the biomaterials in terms of ion release and pH change was characterized in a static or in a continuous flow-through method in Tris buffer, simulated body fluid or cell culture medium. The used dissolution methods were selected based on chemical composition of the materials. The biomaterials were biologically characterized by evaluating the viability of preosteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells by WST method, when cells were cultured in the presence of biomaterials. SEM and TEM were also used to evaluate cell morphology in the presence of functionalized calcium carbonate.

All biomaterials, which were characterized in this thesis differed in their physiochemical properties, such as releasing ions and causing a pH change. Even though minor quantities of silica were detected to dissolve from silica-modified alumina particles, no effect on pre-osteoblast cell viability was detected. However, FCC was shown to reduce the viability of pre-osteoblasts, which probably was caused by FCC’s ability to adsorb calcium ions and proteins from cell culture medium. In this thesis, it was shown that these biomaterials differ from each other based on their physicochemical properties, which are considered to be important for suitability in a biological settings. These properties might also affect the choice of an optimal biomaterial for bone repair.