Investigation of Macroporous Calcium Phosphate Cement Obtained by Foamed Gelatin Polymer

Abstract

This study deals with the effect of gelatin on physical and mechanical properties of calcium phosphate bone cements. The mixture of tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP) and dicalcium phosphate (DCPA) as the cement powder was mixed with 6 wt% Na2HPO4 solution containing different amount (0, 2, 5 and 8% in w/w) of foamed gelatin as liquid phase. The physical properties were determined in the terms of setting time and macroporosity. The compressive strength was also checked before and after soaking the cements in simulated body fluid (SBF). The phase composition, microstructure and chemical groups were respectively determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transformation Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed that gelatin accelerated hydroxyapatite (HA) precipitation during setting and reduced the initial setting time from 35 min for cement without gelatin to 23 min for cement with the most amount of gelatin. Moreover, 17% (in v/v) macroporosity was induced in the cement structure using 8% solution of gelatin as the cement liquid. Gelatin addition promoted compressive strength of the set cement from 1.13 MPa (for gelatin-free cement) to 5.8 MPa.