The present study investigates the chemical composition, solubility, and physical and mechanical properties of carbonate hydroxyapatite (CO3Ap) and silicon-substituted carbonate hydroxyapatite (Si-CO3Ap) which have been prepared by a simple precipitation method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) techniques were used to characterize the formation of CO3Ap and Si-CO3Ap. The results revealed that the silicate (SiO4(4-)) and carbonate (CO3(2-)) ions competed to occupy the phosphate (PO4(3-)) site and also entered simultaneously into the hydroxyapatite structure. The Si-substituted CO3Ap reduced the powder crystallinity and promoted ion release which resulted in a better solubility compared to that of Si-free CO3Ap. The mean particle size of Si-CO3Ap was much finer than that of CO3Ap. At 750°C heat-treatment temperature, the diametral tensile strengths (DTS) of Si-CO3Ap and CO3Ap were about 10.8 ± 0.3 and 11.8 ± 0.4 MPa, respectively.
Interconnected porous tricalcium phosphate ceramics are considered to be potential bone substitutes. However, insufficient mechanical properties when using tricalcium phosphate powders remain a challenge. To mitigate these issues, we have developed a new approach to produce an interconnected alpha-tricalcium phosphate (α-TCP) scaffold and to perform surface modification on the scaffold with a composite layer, which consists of hybrid carbonate apatite / poly-epsilon-caprolactone (CO3Ap/PCL) with enhanced mechanical properties and biological performance. Different CO3Ap combinations were tested to evaluate the optimal mechanical strength and in vitro cell response of the scaffold. The α-TCP scaffold coated with CO3Ap/PCL maintained a fully interconnected structure with a porosity of 80% to 86% and achieved an improved compressive strength mimicking that of cancellous bone. The addition of CO3Ap coupled with the fully interconnected microstructure of the α-TCP scaffolds coated with CO3Ap/PCL increased cell attachment, accelerated proliferation and resulted in greater alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. Hence, our bone substitute exhibited promising potential for applications in cancellous bone-type replacement.
Titainum (Ti) implants have been successfully used in orthopaedic and dental surgery. However, the poor early bone tissue integration is still a common failure. This could be modulated by improving material bonding or adhesion directly to bone though a surface roughening and/or a bioresorbable and osteoconductive coating. In this study, we report on the biological behavious of the Ti substrate with modified surface roughness and/or bioactive coating. The roughened Ti surface was prepared by acid etching reaction, and the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) coating on the substrates was synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of Ti in calcium citrate complexes. The study demonstrated that surface roughing of Ti alone did not improve the biological reponse of the MC3T3-E1 cells, however, CaCO3 coating on smooth Ti surface increased cell responses, and the affects were further enhanced in combination with Ti surface roughening. Larger cell area, greater cell proliferation and increased bone-like nodule formation were obtained on the CaCO3 coating of the roughened Ti surface. This was also supported by a higher ALP value obtained for the the coatings of roughened Ti surface. The cell behaviours found in the current study support further development of calcium carbonate coatings towards clinical application.