In order to study the biodegradation behavior of calcium phosphate materials, cylinders of standard size were implanted in the tibiae of rabbits. Material parameters were stoichiometry (hydroxyapatite with a Ca/P ratio of 1.67 versus tricalcium phosphate with a Ca/P ratio of 1.50), crystallographic structure (apatite versus beta-whitlockite), microporosity, and macroporosity. The extent of biodegradation was evaluated by radiography, light and fluorescence microscopy, microradiography, and porosity measurements. All calcium phosphate materials were biocompatible in bone tissue. Hydroxyapatite ceramics had a higher osteogenic potential than beta-whitlockite materials. Depending on their porosities, sintered tricalciumphosphate (beta-whitlockite) materials were more or less biodegradable, in contrast to sintered hydroxyapatite materials, which showed no detectable resorption over a period of 9 months of implantation.

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Dense (97-99.9%) hydroxylapatite ceramics were implanted in muscle and bone tissue of rats. The aim of this study was to compare apatite implant material made of commercially available powder with laboratory powder prepared in a painstaking manner. Biocompatibility, biostability, and adherence to bone were evaluated. In muscle tissue the implants were found to be encapsulated with a very thin connective tissue layer. Implantation in excavated bone tissue resulted with new bone directly deposited against the implant surface, irrespective of the type of hydroxylapatite used. When the implants were protruding from the bone surface, bone appeared to grow up to the edge of the protruding part of the implant. A very strong bonding developed; push-out tests indicated that the bone fractured but never at the interface. Histologic studies proved that a sleeve of newly formed bone closely encased the implant, regardless of shape. It was concluded that dense apatite ceramics are fully compatible with the tibia of the rat and that no degradation of the implant material occurred for intervals of up to 6 months after implantation. The very strong bonding without mechanical retention indicated continuity between artificial hydroxylapatite and natural bone. No difference was found between the biological behavior of the hydroxylapatites prepared from commercial or laboratory starting powders.

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