The effect of bioactive glass particle size and liquid phase on the physical-chemical and mechanical properties of carbonated apatite cement

Abstract

This study reports for the first time the effect of particle size of bioactive glass 46S6 on the physico-chemical and mechanical properties of carbonated apatite cement (CPC) composed of brushite (CaHPO4. H2O) and vaterite (CaCO3). Three particle size ranges were investigated: coarse (BGc: 100–200 μm), medium (BGm: 40–100 μm), and fine (BGf<40 μm). For the composite formulations, three liquid phases were used: distilled water as a simple setting solution, sodium alginate hydrogel as a cohesion and injectability enhancer, and sodium alginate solubilized in a setting accelerator (Na2HPO4) solution (Alg-NaP) to control the setting time.The changes in the bioglass particle size and the liquid phase lead to clear modifications in the setting, rheological, and mechanical properties of the prepared cements.The optimization of the different parameters reveals that the formulation with BGc and Alg-NaP as a liquid phase provides the best properties: good injectability of 95%, excellent cohesion, a setting time of 10 min that meets the range required by clinicians, and mechanical strength of 10.5 MPa comparable to that of cancellous bone.