Tricalcium phosphate (TCP) microspheres carrying strontium were fabricated using yeast cells as a biotemplate and growing materials through co-precipitation around the biotemplate core. In order to dope Sr in the TCP, the biotemplate was allowed to pre-adsorb Sr2+ and Ca2+ before materials deposition. It was found beta-TCP with Sr2+ partially occupying Ca2+ site was formed with high purity. The amount of Sr doped in beta-TCP linearly increased with the original Sr2+ concentration adsorbed on the biotemplate. The cell toxicity tests using human marrow stromal cells (hMSCs) showed that Sr-doped TCP microspheres have an excellent biocompatibility. The product can serve as a potential drug release system for the bone regeneration field. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.