Compressive Strength Of Calcium Phosphate Cement Research Articles

Study on the improvement of compressive strength and fracture toughness of calcium phosphate cement

Calcium phosphate cement (CPC) has superior properties, such as excellent bioactivity, biocompatibility, osteoconductivity and degradability, since its hydration product is hydroxyapatite (HA). As a novel cement material, CPC also shows injectable and self-setting properties. However, the compressive strength (CS) and fracture toughness of most CPCs are far lower than that of human weight-bearing bones, which largely limit their applications in the repairment of weight-bearing bones. To improve the CS and fracture toughness of CPC, several methods, including in-situ reinforcement by Ca4(PO4)2O (TTCP) ceramic particles, suitable nanofibers are introduced in this study. The maximal CS of CPC prepared with TTCP (average particle size of 22.3 ± 0.4 μm) reached to 98.4 MPa, which is close to the strength of human long bones. The enhanced CS of CPC was attributed to the in-situ reinforcing effect of residual TTCP particles. Tendon collagen slices and HA nanofibers were used to improve the fracture toughness of CPC. The flexural strength (FS) and the work of facture (WOF) of CPC were slightly increased by adding HA nanofibers but was significantly increased by the addition of tendon collagen slices. With 1.000 wt% tendon collagen slices, the FS and WOF of CPC were increased by 61.3% and 22.6 times, respectively.

Neutral Liquid Containing Chitosan and Polyol for Calcium Phosphate Cement

The self-hardening calcium phosphate cement (CPC) has widely been used in bone defect repairs. CPC tends to decay or disintegrate upon early contact with blood or body fluids, and the gelation of CPC paste using sodium alginate, chitosan, or collagen may overcome such a wash-out property. The incorporation of chitosan in CPC paste increased the compressive strength and work-of-fracture. However, the viscosity of CPC paste increased with an increase of chitosan content, and acidic liquid is not favorable, as chitosan must be dissolved in an acidic solution. The CPC paste using the liquid prepared from freeze-dried chitosan powder was easily push out from the syringe, but the content of chitosan was reduced. An addition of polyol-phosphate salt to chitosan solution produces a transparent liquid at physiological pH, and the chitosan content was found to be increased. Chitosan content of liquid was increased from 0.09% to 0.54 % by adding polyol to liquid, and the compressive strength of CPC was also increased.

Preparation and cytocompatibility of a novel bismuth aluminate/calcium phosphate cement with high radiopacity.

In a minimally invasive surgery, using a bone cement being radiologically detectable is vital to the success of the procedure and avoiding cement leakage in the early stage. The radiopacity of calcium phosphate cement (CPC) is inadequate, thus limiting its clinic application in this area. In this work, bismuth aluminate (BiA) was employed as a radiopaque agent for CPC. The influences of BiA on physicochemical, radiopaque and in vitro biocompatible properties of CPC were investigated. With the increasing content of BiA, the setting time and the compressive strength of CPC were augmented, while the injectability of the cement pastes was reduced. The radiopacity of CPC was significantly improved by adding more than 6 wt.% BiA. CPC specimens with less than 12 wt.% BiA showed good cellular affinity. Moreover, the CPC containing 6 and 9 wt.% BiA promoted the cell growth and ALP activity of mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells when compared with the control. On the basis of its improved radiopacity and cytocompatibility, the radiopaque CPC with 6 ~ 9 wt.% BiA is expected to be a potential substitute for bone defect restoration via minimally invasive surgery. CPC with bismuth aluminate reveals better radiopacity and cell affinity along with proper physicochemical properties.

Reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotubes reinforced calcium phosphate cement

Abstract Improving the mechanical properties of calcium phosphate cement (CPC) will be helpful for expanding its application range in the treatment of bone defect. In this work, reduced graphene oxide (RGO), which has two-dimensional structure and excellent mechanical properties, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were used as toughening materials collectively, to enhance the mechanical properties of CPC. Setting time, morphology and mechanical properties of CPC were analyzed. The two dimensional structure of RGO could increase the interface area between RGO and substrate, which achieved an effective transfer of load between substrate and RGO. Moreover, by reasons of bridging cracks, preventing crack extension, pulling out from substrate and interface debonding, the flexural strength and compressive strength of CPC were increased by 67.1% ± 4.8% and 76.4% ± 10.6% respectively. Therefore, the CPC composite we studied has potential to be used as load-bearing substitution in bone defects.

Correlation between degradation and compressive strength of an injectable macroporous calcium phosphate cement

Variation of compressive strength of a macroporous calcium phosphate cement (CPC) was investigated in the present study. Poly (lactide-co-glycolide acid) (PLGA) microspheres was incorporated with the CPC powder. Sodium citrate solution was used as the cement liquid phase. The formation of macropores and the decline in mechanical strength of the paste was investigated. The results showed that the macroporous CPC exhibited a good property of injectability but the self-setting time was slightly prolonged. With the degradation of PLGA microspheres, the weight loss increased and the average values of compressive strength of the paste was reduced dramatically. The formulation of negative correlation between compressive and weight loss was established as following: y2=−0.794y1+38.278. In conclusion, the present macroporous CPC showed that excellent injectability accompanied with the prolonged setting time, the degradation of microspheres and compressive strength of CPC are also in negative correlation. Regulate the acceleration of degeneration to a proper extents perhaps is another method to enhance the compressive strength in macroporous CPCs.

Mechanical Properties of Calcium Phosphate Cements (CPC) for Bone Substitution: Influence of Fabrication and Microstructure

Calcium phosphate cements have been widely used in medical and dental applications for decades. However, their intrinsic high brittleness and low strength prohibit their use in many stress-bearing locations, which would require an improvement in mechanical properties. The influence of microstructural parameters on the latter have nevertheless barely been investigated in a systematic manner. Furthermore, due to their inferior reproducibility which is sensitive to the variations introduced during the preparation and the way they are measured, mechanical properties of CPC cannot simply be characterized using mean values, but request a more reliable method. In this aim, apatite cements have been fabricated by mixing liquid and powders based on α-TCP (α-tricalcium phosphate), and their mechanical properties have been measured (Young’s modulus, fracture toughness, compressive strength and flexural strength) in wet environment as a function of various parameters (liquid-to-powder ratio; amount and morphology of porosity, including macropores created by porogens). The reliability of compressive strength of CPC is analysed using Weibull statistics. The above results indicate that fabrication and microstructural features of CPC significantly influence their mechanical properties.

Calcium Phosphate Cement Modified with Sodium Citrate for Bone Repair

An injectable calcium phosphate cement (CPC) modified with sodium citrate was developed in the present study. The effects of sodium citrate concentration on the injectability, mechanical strength, and the self-setting properties of CPC were systematically investigated. The addition of sodium citrate significantly improved injectability and compressive strength of CPC. The specimens have an injectability of 93% and compressive strength of 36.43 ± 2.64 MPa at 15 wt% sodium citrate concentration, compared to injectability of 75% and compressive strength of 23.15 ± 2.12 MPa of the specimens without sodium citrate. XRD spectra indicated that addition of sodium citrate did not change the hydration reaction of CPC and the reaction product was mainly poorly crystallized hydroxyapatite. In conclusion, CPC developed in this work exhibited excellent injectability and high strength, which should be a promising material for bone repair.

Effect of Silk Fibroin on the Properties of Calcium Phosphate Cement

To improve the physicochemical properties of calcium phosphate cement (CPC), silk fibroin (SF) in the different forms were added into CPC. The structure of the composites was studied by X-ray diffraction. The setting time was investigated by ISO Cement Standard Consistency Instrument. Scanning Electron Microscope was used to observe the surface morphology. Mechanical properties of samples were tested by Instron Universal Testing Machine. The results indicated that acicular crystal of hydroxyapatite (HA) was formed in the hardening body of both CPC with SF and the pure CPC. Addition of SF had no significant effect on the structure of SF/CPC composite. The setting time of CPC with SF was significantly shorter than that of the pure CPC (30.3 mins). The setting time of CPC by adding silk fibroin powder I (SFP) and silk fibroin fiber (SFF) was greatly shortened, which was only 11.7 minutes. The setting time of CPC with SFP decreased approximately by 1/3, while the setting time of the CPC with SFF decreased nearly by 1/2. With the adding of SF, the compressive strength of CPC increased significantly. There was a distinct increase in the work-of-compressive of CPC with the adding of SFF.

Self-Hardening Calcium Phosphate Composite Scaffold for Bone Tissue Engineering

Calcium phosphate cement (CPC) sets in situ to form solid hydroxyapatite, can conform to complex cavity shapes without machining, has excellent osteoinductivity, and is able to be resorbed and replaced by new bone. Therefore, CPC is promising for craniofacial and orthopaedic repairs. However, its low strength and lack of macroporosity limit its use. This study investigated CPC reinforcement with absorbable fibers, the effects of fiber volume fraction on mechanical properties and macroporosity, and the biocompatibility of CPC-fiber composite. The liquid phase of CPC in this study was the weak acidic solution of chitosan. Chitosan has favourable biocompatibility, which has high viscosity in solution. The incorporation of chitosan could improve the handling properties of CPC. The liquid phase contained citric acid could strongly improve the hydration rate of CPC, which shortened the setting time and increased the compressive strength of CPC. In addition, the weak acidic environment around the biomaterials could accelerate the degradation of CPC, which was important to bone tissue engineering. The rationale was that large-diameter absorbable fibers would initially strengthen the CPC graft, then dissolve to form long cylindrical macropores for colonization by osteoblasts. Compressive strength was measured vs. fiber volume fraction from 0% (CPC Control without fibers) to 70%. Animal experiment showed that the material had osteoinductivity and biodegradability when the material was implanted into the muscle pouches in the thigh of rabbits. Compressive strength (mean ± SD; n=3) of CPC with 70% fibers was 0.8± 0.1 MPa. Long cylindrical macropores 100~300 μm in diameter were created in CPC after fiber dissolution, and the CPC-fiber scaffold reached a total porosity of 75.1±1.2% with 70% fibers. The new CPC-fiber formulation had good potentiality of ectopic bone induction. The method of using large-diameter absorbable fibers in bone graft for mechanical properties and formation of long cylindrical macropores for bone ingrowth may be applicable to other tissue engineering materials.

Development of Injectable Calcium Phosphate Cement Adding with ZrO<sub>2</sub>

In the present study, ZrO2 was added into the injectable calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) to improve their mechanical strength. Different mass fractions of ZrO2 (5 %, 10 %, 15 %, 20%) were mixed with the powder components consisted of tricalcium phosphate (α-TCP) and hydroxyapatite (HA). Then formed the paste via adding the liquid component consisted of citric acid. The compressive strength, the injectability, the initial setting time and finial time of CPC were measured, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was employed to analyse the phase of as-prepared CPC. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy dispersive spertrum (EDS) were used to observe the morphology and indicate the element components of CPC. The compressive strength of ZrO2-CPC was higher than that of CPC without added ZrO2. The compressive strength got the maximal when the mass fraction of ZrO2 was 15%. It had no effect on the injectability with adding ZrO2, which were 89 % to 92 %. It had a slight down-regulation of the initial and final setting time with adding ZrO2. SEM showed that there was amounts needle-like substance in CPC, which might be related to the improvement of compressive strength of CPC. XRD showed that there were HA, a few of α-TCP and ZrO2 diffraction peaks in CPCs. The present results indicate that it is feasible to improve the compressive strength of injectable CPC via adding ZrO2.

Mechanical properties of calcium phosphate based dental filling and regeneration materials.

The objective of this study was to compare the mechanical properties of calcium phosphate cements (CPC) for possible dental applications with varied liquid and powder compositions under the same testing condition. Cements studied in this experiment were divided into two groups of CPC not containing polymer and polymeric CPC (PCPC). Cement powder was formed by combining equimolar amounts of dicalcium phosphate anhydrous and tetracalcium phosphate, or acrylic resin polymer powder mixture. The CPC specimens for the compressive strength (CS) and diametral tensile strength (DTS) measurements were prepared by mixing powder and liquid for 30 s with a powder/liquid ratio of 3:1, and subsequently packing the paste into a brass mould. The specimens were kept at 37 degrees C and 100% relative humidity for 24 h before measurements were conducted on a Universal Testing Machine with a cross-head speed of 1 mm min-1. The CS of CPC was 0.14-10.29 MPa and that of PCPC was 0.26-117.58 MPa. The DTS of CPC was 0.10-4.56 MPa and that of PCPC was 0.07-22.54 MPa. The CS and DTS were very diverse depending on the composition of powder and liquid. Some compositions showed higher values than commercial liners. Thus compositions of 2% carboxymethyl cellulose + 35% citric acid in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), 20% gelatin in PBS, 2% sodium alginate in PBS, 20-40% aqueous acrylic-maleic copolymer solution, and some of the HPMC and PMVE-Ma solutions exhibited promising formulae for dentine regenerating materials. Acrylic resin-PCPC group showed generally higher CS and DTS values. Based on this study, further studies on the reaction with odontoblast and resultant dentine regeneration should be performed using promising compositions.