2007 年 48 巻 3 号 p. 313-316
A macroporous phosphate invert glass-ceramic (PIGC) was derived from the mother glass with a composition of 60CaO-30P2O5-3TiO2-7Na2O in mol%. The mother glass powders were coated on a polymer sponge skeleton and subsequently sintered at 850°C for 1 h through burning off the sponge, resulting in the preparation of macroporous PIGC. The resulting macroporous PIGC consists predominantly of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and β-calcium pyrophosphate and has large-sized pores of 300–1000 μm in diameter and small-sized pores of several tens micrometer in diameter. A new type of composite containing a large amount of β-TCP was also prepared by heating the mixture of the mother glass powders with Ca(OH)2 at 800°C for 1 h. The amount of β-TCP in the crystalline phase of the composites increased with increasing the Ca(OH)2 amount. The β-TCP-containing glass-ceramic composites can be prepared by firing at a considerably lower temperature than a conventional β-TCP ceramics. The amount of β-TCP in the composites is controllable by variation of the Ca(OH)2 amount. The composites showed higher solubility in an acetic acid solution at 37°C with an initial pH value of 5.0 in comparison with PIGC. The solubility of one of the composites was comparable with that of pure β-TCP. The composites are expected to be applicable for biodegradable scaffold for bone tissue engineering.
