Fabrication and Characterization of Granulated β-Tricalcium Phosphate and Bioactive Glass Powders by Spray Drying

Abstract

Biocomposite materials are widely implemented in various applications in clinical dentistry and orthopedics since it is possible to combine multiple materials by relying on their compatibility. Ceramic-based materials have osteogenic and osteoconductive features owing to their inorganic constituents with dental and bone tissue. β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and bioactive glass have excellent biocompatibility, bioresorbability, and bioactivity. In this study, β-TCP and BG powders were fabricated by spray pyrolysis (SP) and spray drying (SD). These fabrication methods are suitable for the mass production and synthesis of spherical particles. At first, β-TCP and BG spherical particles were synthesized by SP and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). After that, these powders were granulated with the different weight ratios of β-TCP/BG = 100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75, and 0/100 by SD. The resulting granulation powders were characterized using XRD, FT-IR, and SEM to investigate phase compositions and microstructures. In addition, cytotoxicity was investigated using the MTT assay.