Fabrication and in-vivo evaluation of BCP scaffolds

Abstract

The aim of this study was to produce the absorbable BCP scaffolds from tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and hydroxyapatite (HA). The Naphthalene particles were used as pore forming agent. The conventional pressing and sintering were utilized to prepare disc shape samples. The sintering were carried out at the temperatures 1000, 1100 and 1200°C. The phase composition and chemical structure analyses were performed using XRD and FTIR experiments. The morphological aspects of scaffolds such as pore size and distribution and their interconnectivities were studied by SEM. The sintered samples were composed of TCP and HA phases, without any unwanted impurities remaining from the additives. Those pressed at the pressure of 220 MPa and then sintered at the temperature of 1200°C had the pores between 50 to 300 μm in size and rough on the inner surface. The results of In-vivo experiments showed that the new bone was well formed in the bone defect when the porous BCP scaffolds were implanted for a period of three months. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.