Scaffolds with a standardized macro-architecture fabricated from several calcium phosphate ceramics using an indirect rapid prototyping technique

Calcium phosphate ceramics, commonly applied as bone graft substitutes, are a natural choice of scaffolding material for bone tissue engineering. Evidence shows that the chemical composition, macroporosity and microporosity of these ceramics influences their behavior as bone graft substitutes and bone tissue engineering scaffolds but little has been done to optimize these parameters. One method of optimization is to place focus on a particular parameter by normalizing the influence, as much as possible, of confounding parameters. This is difficult to accomplish with traditional fabrication techniques. In this study we describe a design based rapid prototyping method of manufacturing scaffolds with virtually identical macroporous architectures from different calcium phosphate ceramic compositions. Beta-tricalcium phosphate, hydroxyapatite (at two sintering temperatures) and biphasic calcium phosphate scaffolds were manufactured. The macro- and micro-architectures of the scaffolds were characterized as well as the influence of the manufacturing method on the chemistries of the calcium phosphate compositions. The structural characteristics of the resulting scaffolds were remarkably similar. The manufacturing process had little influence on the composition of the materials except for the consistent but small addition of, or increase in, a beta-tricalcium phosphate phase. Among other applications, scaffolds produced by the method described provide a means of examining the influence of different calcium phosphate compositions while confidently excluding the influence of the macroporous structure of the scaffolds

Extracting hydroxyapatite and its precursors from natural resources

Healing of segmental bone defects remain a difficult problem in orthopedic and trauma surgery. One reason for this difficulty is the limited availability of bone material to fill the defect and promote bone growth. Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a synthetic biomaterial, which is chemically similar to the mineral component of bones and hard tissues in mammals and, therefore, it can be used as a filler to replace damaged bone or as a coating on implants to promote bone in-growth into prosthetic implants when used in orthopedic, dental, and maxillofacial applications. HA is a stoichiometric material with a chemical composition of Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, while a mineral component of bone is a non-stoichiometric HA with trace amounts of ions such as Na+, Zn2+, Mg2+, K+, Si2+, Ba2+, F-, CO3 2-, etc. This review looks at the progress being made to extract HA and its precursors containing trace amount of beneficial ions from biological resources like animal bones, eggshells, wood, algae, etc. Properties, such as particle size, morphology, stoichiometry, thermal stability, and the presence of trace ions are studied with respect to the starting material and recovery method used. This review also highlights the importance of extracting HA from natural resources and gives future directions to the researcher so that HA extracted from biological resources can be used clinically as a valuable biomaterial