A First Approach toin vitroSimulation of Vascular Calcification by the Controlled Crystallization of Poorly Crystalline Calcium Phosphates onto Porous Cholesterol

Abstract

A first approach to in vitro simulation of vascular calcification was elaborated. Vascular calcification was simulated by a slow crystallization of a non-stoichiometric poorly crystallized carbonateapatite from Kokubo's revised simulated body fluid (rSBF) on the surface of a porous pellet made of pure cholesterol. To achieve this, the crystallization experiments were performed under strictly controlled conditions (similar to physiological ones) provided by a constant-composition double-diffusion (CCDD) device. To obtain an even closer match to in vivo conditions, rSBF was enriched by the addition of glucose and bovine serum albumin (BSA) in physiological amounts. Precipitation took place on the surface of cholesterol and the precipitates consisted of poorly crystalline non-stoichiometric, sodium-and magnesium-containing carbonateapatite.