FABRICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF β-TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE COMPOSITE WITH ALGINATE
2005 Volume 19 Pages 136-141
Details
2005 Volume 19 Pages 136-141
Various flexible forms of β-calcium orthophosphate (β-Ca3(PO4)2; β-TCP) composites containing alginate, e.g., thread, membrane and honeycomb, were fabricated in order to utilize them as bone substitute materials. The commercially available β-TCP powder was mixed with sodium alginate; the mass ratios of β-TCP to sodium alginate were 2/1, 1/1 and 1/2. After the ball mill grinding of mixed powders for 5 h, the de-ionized water heated at 60°C was put into them to form the paste of homogeneous composition; the concentration of alginate for unit mass of de-ionized water was kept at 7.5 mass%. The thread was prepared by pushing the paste into 0.03 mol·dm-3 of CaCl2 solution through an injector, where thread-shaped composites were instantaneously prepared; the membrane and honeycomb could be fabricated by putting the paste in the mould, followed by pouring of 0.03 mol·dm-3 of CaCl2 solution onto them. The phases present in the resulting materials were β-TCP and alginate. Microstructures of these composites showed that the grains with sizes of approximately 0.5-5μm were coated with alginate.
