Bioactive ceramics for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine derived from marine sponges

The use of biostructures and bioceramics derived from the marine environment for several application has been proposed in the last years by different authors. Examples are the use of different marine species like coral skeletons, sea urchins and sponges as three dimensional biomatrices1-3.We have focused on the potential of bioceramics obtained from three marine sponges, Petrosia ficidormis (PET), Agelas oroides (AG) and Chondrosia reniformis (CR) for biomedical applications. In vitro bioactivity studies promote the precipitation of crystals of calcium phosphate (e.g. hydroxyapatite) on the surface of marine sponge derived bioceramics suggesting these as a new source of bioactive ceramics for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) applications.