Abstract
Calcium hydroxyapatite, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2:HA, is the inorganic principle component of natural bones and teeth. It has been already suggested that the amount of OH ion in the crystal structure of HA is closely related to the biocompatibility. The amount of OH ion in current HA, however, has not been controlled. In order to prepare more functional HA ceramics, the amount of OH ion must be controlled. In this study, HA ceramics with different OH amount were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS). In order to reveal the ideal sintering conditions for preparation of transparent ceramics, densification process on SPS was investigated. The samples were pressed uniaxialy under 60 MPa, and then they were heated by SPS at 800 °C, 900 °C and 1000 °C for 10 min with the heating rate of 25 °C · min-1. The quantity of OH ion in HA ceramics sintered by SPS was decreased with increasing temperature of sintering. Transparent HA ceramics were prepared by SPS at 900 °C and 1000 °C. In analysis of the densification behavior during sintering of HA by SPS, dominant sintering mechanism was plastic flow of densification. Cell attachment, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of rat mesenchymal stem cells on transparent HA ceramics observed by light microscopy were significantly similar to those on tissue culture polystyrene dish. The observation of living cells on transparent HA ceramics is a new significant and revealed reliable nature of the hydroxyapatite ceramics for the purpose of tissue engineering in hard tissue repair.
