Bioceramic specimens have been prepared by incorporating a small amount of silicon (0.4 wt %) into the structure of hydroxyapatite [Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, HA] via an aqueous precipitation reaction to produce a silicon-substituted hydroxyapatite (Si-HA). The results of chemical analysis confirmed the proposed substitution of the silicon (or silicate) ion for the phosphorus (or phosphate) ion in hydroxyapatite. The Si-HA was produced by first preparing a silicon-substituted apatite (Si-Ap) by a precipitation process. A single-phase Si-HA was obtained by heating/calcining the as-prepared Si-Ap to temperatures above 700 degrees C; no secondary phases, such as tricalcium phosphate (TCP), tetracalcium phosphate (TeCP), or calcium oxide (CaO), were observed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Although the X-ray diffraction patterns of Si-HA and stoichiometric HA appeared to be identical, refinement of the diffraction data revealed some small structural differences between the two materials. The silicon substitution in the HA lattice resulted in a small decrease in the a axis and an increase in the c axis of the unit cell. This substitution also caused a decrease in the number of hydroxyl (OH) groups in the unit cell, which was expected from the proposed substitution mechanism. The incorporation of silicon in the HA lattice resulted in an increase in the distortion of the PO4 tetrahedra, indicated by an increase in the distortion index. Analysis of the Si-HA by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy indicated that although the amount of silicon incorporated into the HA lattice was small, silicon substitution appeared to affect the FTIR spectra of HA, in particular the P-O vibrational bands. The results demonstrate that phase-pure silicon-substituted hydroxyapatite may be prepared using a simple precipitation technique.

A novel synthesis route has been developed to produce a high-purity mixed AB-type carbonate-substituted hydroxyapatite (CHA) with a carbonate content that is comparable to the type and level observed in bone mineral. This method involves the aqueous precipitation in the presence of carbonate ions in solution of a calcium phosphate apatite with a Ca/P molar ratio greater than the stoichiometric value of 1.67 for hydroxyapatite (HA). The resulting calcium-rich carbonate-apatite is sintered/heat-treated in a carbon dioxide atmosphere to produce a single-phase, crystalline carbonate-substituted hydroxyapatite. In contrast to previous methods for producing B- or AB-type carbonate-substituted hydroxyapatites, no sodium or ammonium ions, which would be present in the reaction mixture from the sodium or ammonium carbonates commonly used as a source of carbonate ions, were present in the final product. The chemical and phase compositions of the carbonate-substituted hydroxyapatite was characterized by X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction, respectively, and the level and nature of the carbonate substitution were studied using C-H-N analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, respectively. The carbonate substitution improves the densification of hydroxyapatite and reduces the sintering temperature required to achieve near-full density by approximately 200 degrees C compared to stoichiometric HA. Initial studies have shown that these carbonate-substituted hydroxyapatites have improved mechanical and biologic properties compared to stoichiometric hydroxyapatite.

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Thermogravimetric analysis linked to mass spectrometry (TGA-MS) shows changes in mass and identifies gases evolved when a material is heated. Heating to 600 degrees C enabled samples of bone to be classified as having a high (cod clythrum, deer antler, and whale periotic fin bone) or a low (porpoise ear bone, whale tympanic bulla, and whale ear bone) proportion of organic material. At higher temperatures, the mineral phase of the bone decomposed. High temperature X-ray diffraction (HTXRD) showed that the main solids produced by decomposition of mineral (in air or argon at 800 degrees C to 1000 degrees C) were beta-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and hydroxyapatite (HAP), in deer antler, and CaO and HAP, in whale tympanic bulla. In carbon dioxide, the decomposition was retarded, indicating that the changes observed in air and argon were a result of the loss of carbonate ions from the mineral. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of bones heated to different temperatures, showed that loss of carbon dioxide (as a result of decomposition of carbonate ions) was accompanied by the appearance of hydroxide ions. These results can be explained if the structure of bone mineral is represented by [Formula: see text] where V(Ca) and V(OH) correspond to vacancies on the calcium and hydroxide sites, respectively, and 2-x-y = 0.4. This general formula is consistent in describing both mature bone mineral (i.e., whale bone), with a high Ca/P molar ratio, lower HPO4(2-) content, and higher CO3(2-) content, and immature bone mineral (i.e., deer antler), with a low Ca/P ratio, higher HPO4(2-), and lower CO3(2-) content.

Hydroxyapatite (HA) calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) are attractive materials for orthopedic applications because they can be molded into shape during implantation. However their low strength and brittle nature limits their potential applications to principally non-load-bearing applications. Little if any use has been made of the HA cement systems as manufacturing routes for preset HA bone grafts, which although not moldable pastes, are resorbable, unlike HA sintered ceramic. It is known that the strength of cements can be increased beyond that attainable from slurry systems by compaction, and this study investigates whether compaction significantly alters the specific surface area and pore-size distribution of CPC prepared according to the method of Brown and Chow. Compaction pressures of between 18 and 106 MPa were used to decrease the porosity from 50 to 31%, which resulted in an increase in the wet compressive strength from 4 to 37 MPa. The Weibull modulus was found to increase as porosity decreased; in addition the amount of porosity larger than the reactant particle size increased as porosity decreased. It is proposed that this was caused by a combination of voids created by the aqueous solvent used in fabrication and shrinkage that occurs on reaction. The specific surface area was unchanged by compaction.

Phase pure hydroxyapatite (HA) and a 0.8 wt % silicon substituted hydroxyapatite (SiHA) were prepared by aqueous precipitation methods. Both HA and SiHA were processed into granules 0.5-1.0 mm in diameter and sintered at 1200 degrees C for 2 h. The sintered granules underwent full structural characterization, prior to implantation into the femoral condyle of New Zealand White rabbits for a period of 23 days. The results show that both the HA and SiHA granules were well accepted by the host tissue, with no presence of any inflammatory cells. New bone formation was observed directly on the surfaces and in the spaces between both HA and SiHA granular implants. The quantitative histomorphometry results indicate that the percentage of bone ingrowth for SiHA (37.5%+/-5.9) was significantly greater than that for phase pure HA (22.0%+/-6.5), in addition the percentage of bone/implant coverage was significantly greater for SiHA (59.8%+/-7.3) compared to HA (47.1%+/-3.6). These findings indicate that the early in vivo bioactivity of hydroxyapatite was significantly improved with the incorporation of silicate ions into the HA structure, making SiHA an attractive alternative to conventional HA materials for use as bone substitute ceramics.