Ceramics used for the repair and reconstruction of diseased or damaged parts of the musculo-skeletal system, termed bioceramics, may be bioinert (alumina, zirconia), resorbable (tricalcium phosphate), bioactive (hydroxyapatite, bioactive glasses, and glass-ceramics), or porous for tissue ingrowth (hydroxyapatite-coated metals, alumina). Applications include replacements for hips, knees, teeth, tendons, and ligaments and repair for periodontal disease, maxillofacial reconstruction, augmentation and stabilization of the jaw bone, spinal fusion, and bone fillers after tumor surgery. Carbon coatings are thromboresistant and are used for prosthetic heart valves. The mechanisms of tissue bonding to bioactive ceramics are beginning to be understood, which can result in the molecular design of bioceramics for interfacial bonding with hard and soft tissues. Composites are being developed with high toughness and elastic modulus match with bone. Therapeutic treatment of cancer has been achieved by localized delivery of radioactive isotopes via glass beads. Development of standard test methods for prediction of long-term (20-year) mechanical reliability under load is still needed.

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Bioceramics: From Concept to Clinic

Bioceramics : from concept to clinic

For the synthesis of hydroxyapatite crystals from aqueous solutions three preparation methods were employed. From the experimental processes and the characterization of the crystals it was concluded that aging and precipitation kinetics are critical for the purity of the product and its crystallographic characteristics. The authentication details are presented along with the results from infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, transmission and scanning electron photographs, and chemical analysis. Analytical data for several calcium phosphates were collected from the literature, extensively reviewed, and the results were grouped and presented in tables to provide comparison with the data obtained here.

Synthesis and characterization of hydroxyapatite crystals: A review study on the analytical methods

Bioactive glass powders, with a composition of SiO2-CaO-P2O5,have been successfully synthesized via a sol-gel process at considerably loer temperatures than required for conventional melting method. Bioactive glass powders made via conventional methods form an interfacial bond wih none when they are implanted. Bonding is correlated with the formation of a surface hydroxyapatite layer. This study examinded the formation of a hydroxyapatite layer in Tris-buffered solution as a function of SiO2 content of sol-gel derived powders. A FT-IRRS technique was used to monitor the formation of the hydroxyapatite on the surface of the powders. X-ray diffraction analysis and BET were also used to characterize the chemical and physical properties of the sol-gel derived bioactive powders. It was discovered that: (a) the rate of hydroxyapatite formation decreased wih increasing SiO2 content for powders whose SiO2 content was less than 90 mol%; (b) a hydroxyapatite film does not form for the powders whose SiO2 content is more than 90 mol%; (c) the SiO2 limit, beyond which the powders lost their bioactivity, was much higher for bioactive glass powders mad through sol-gel process (90%) than those made by conventional melting methods (60%). These results indicate that it is possible to significantly expand the bioactive composition range through microstructural control made possible by sol-gel processing techniques.

An investigation of bioactive glass powders by sol‐gel processing

Highly porous poly(L-lactic acid)/apatite composites were prepared through in situ formation of carbonated apatite onto poly(L-lactic acid) foams in a simulated body fluid. The highly porous polymer foams (up to 95% porosity) were prepared from polymer solution by solid-liquid phase separation and subsequent sublimation of the solvent. The foams were then immersed in the simulated body fluid at 37 degrees C to allow the in situ apatite formation. After incubation in the simulated body fluid for a certain period of time, a large number of characteristic microparticles formed on the surfaces of pore walls throughout the polymer foams. The microparticles were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, and X-ray diffractometry. These porous spherical microparticles were assemblies of microflakes. They were found to be carbonated bonelike apatite. A series of composite foams with varying sizes and concentrations of the apatite particles was obtained by varying incubation time and conditions. These porous composites may be promising scaffolding materials for bone tissue engineering and regeneration because the excellent bone-bonding properties of the apatite may provide a good environment for osteoblast and osteoprogenitor cells' attachment and growth.

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Porous poly(L-lactic acid)/apatite composites created by biomimetic process.

The infrared spectra of powdered calcium hydroxyapatite isotopically substituted with D, /sup 18/O, /sup 44/Ca, and /sup 48/Ca and infrared spectra of powdered strontium and barium hydroxyapatites and their deuterated analogs are reported at 48 and - 185 deg in the 4000-200cm-/sup 1/ region. Band assignments, based on isotopic frequency shifts, band intensity, band temperature dependency, and comparisons between corresponding bands of these structurally related apatites are presented for the above and other apatites. (auth)

B. O. Fowler

Papers

Infrared studies of apatites. I. Vibrational assignments for calcium, strontium, and barium hydroxyapatites utilizing isotopic substitution