Raw Materials for Bone Implants

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Hydroxyapatite

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is a calcium phosphate similar to the human hard tissues in morphology and composition. Particularly, it has a hexagonal structure2, 3 and a stoichiometric Ca/P ratio of 1.67, which is identical to bone apatite.

An important characteristic of HAp is its stability when compared to other calcium phosphates. Thermodynamically, HAp is the most stable calcium phosphate compound under physiological conditions as temperature, pH, and composition of the body fluids.

HAp-like compounds compose approximately 65% of bone, making it an appealing option for a synthetic bone composite.

Synthetic HAp has been successfully produced with the aim of obtaining biomaterials that meet the biomechanical requirements for bone tissue engineering while being compatible with the surrounding biochemical and cellular environment. There are various routes of synthesis of the HAp from natural and chemical resources. The physical methods include the top-down approach and provide the bulk amount of HAp within a short span of time. On the other hand, the chemical methods provide the tunability of size and morphology of the HAp, however, they are time taking processes along with the usage of harmful organic solvents and chemicals. Biomimetic approaches in this contrast have emerged as a boon with using both solid-state methods and wet methods along with the environment responsive.

HAp are commercially available for use in bone repair, substitution, and augmentation and as scaffolds in tissue engineering for bone regeneration. The rationale for its development as a bone substitute material is its similarity in composition to the bone mineral. HA is also used as abrasives to roughen metal implant surfaces and as source material for depositing bioactive coatings on orthopedic and dental implants. These materials can also be used as transfection agents, drug carriers, and percutaneous devices.

Advantages

• Biocompatibility
• Bioactivity
• Osteoconductivity
• Non-toxicity and non-inflammatory nature

Calcium Silicate

Calcium silicate is a white free-flowing powder. It can be derived from naturally occurring limestone and diatomaceous earth, a siliceous sedimentary rock. It is one of a group of compounds that can be produced by reacting calcium oxide and silica in various ratios. Due to the different formation conditions, the crystal form is different and the application is also different.

Food Use

Calcium silicate is used as an anticaking agent in food preparation, including table salt and as an antacid. It is approved by the United Nations' FAO and WHO bodies as a safe food additive in a large variety of products.

Medical Use

Calcium silicate powders, ceramic or porous material are very good with significant biological activity and induction of sedimentary type of bone hydroxyapatite (HAp) layer in vivo. The formation of the HAp layer promotes bone conduction and bone material regeneration, as well as enhances chemical bonding effects in soft/hard tissue. Calcium is a new biologically active bone repair material with great potential and prospects.

In vivo, porous materials should have good biological activity and degradation in general. Degradation gradually happens and the original material will be replaced by new tissue, eventually, tissue repairing is achieved. Meanwhile, early revascularization can bring a variety of cellular material, biological factors, and nutrients, etc., which are conducive not only to the degradation of the material but also to new tissue in growth and metabolism.

Bio-ceramic coating of calcium silicate materials integrates the biological activity, morphological fixed, and anti-infective together. It is a new generation of bone-implant, improves long-term implantation early healing effect, and promotion of growth of osteoblasts.

Advantages

• High-temperature insulation
• Passive fire protection
• Antibacterial
• Anti-mildew
• Aging and corrosion resistance
• High mechanical strength

β-tricalcium phosphate

β-Tricalcium phosphate (TCP) has good biodegradability, biocompatibility, and biological non-toxicity. When it is implanted in the human body, the degraded Ca and P can enter the living body circulatory system to form new bone, so it is an ideal bone alternative material, that has become one of the research focuses of scholars from all over the world.

β-TCP belongs to the trigonal crystal system with a calcium-phosphorus atomic ratio of 1.5, which is a high-temperature phase of calcium phosphate. The biggest advantage of β-TCP is that it has good biocompatibility, and it fuses directly with the bone after being implanted in the body, without any local inflammatory reaction and systemic side effects. The calcium to phosphorus ratio plays an important role in determining the solubility and absorption tendency in the body, so TCP is easier to dissolve in the body than HAp, and its solubility is about 10-20 times higher than that of HAp.

The commonly used β-TCP can be gradually degraded when implanted in the body, and the degradation rate may vary depending on its surface structure, crystal configuration, porosity, and implanted animals, and its strength often decreases with degradation. It has been proved that changing the pore size and the purity of the material can slow down the degradation rate and increase the biological strength. Compared with other ceramics, β-TCP ceramics are more similar to the nature and structure of human bones and natural teeth. In the living body, the dissolution of hydroxyapatite is harmless, and it relies on supplementing calcium and phosphate ions from body fluids to form new bone can produce reactions such as decomposition, absorption, and precipitation at the joint interface of bones to achieve a firm bond.

Animal or human cells can grow, differentiate and reproduce normally on β-TCP materials. A large number of experimental studies have proved that β-TCP has no adverse reaction to bone marrow hematopoietic function, no rejection reaction, no acute toxicity reaction, no carcinogenesis, no allergic phenomenon. Therefore, β-TCP can be widely used in joint and spine fusion, limb trauma, oral and maxillofacial surgery, cardiovascular surgery, and filling of periodontal cavities. With the continuous in-depth study of β-TCP, its application forms have also appeared diversified, and it has shown better performance in clinical medicine.

β-TCP composite materials have been used in the field of orthopedics in recent decades, which fully use excellent properties of other bone repairing materials, such as biodegradability, osteoinductivity, osteogenicity, and osteoconductivity. These materials make up for the deficiencies of single β- TCP and endow β-TCP with more biological and physical properties.

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