Fabrication of porous calcium phosphates

Abstract

The starting materials for this experiment were monocalcium phosphate monohydrate, dicalcium phosphate dihydrate and anhydrous dicalcium phosphate synthesized in-house from the by-product of a local bone-gelatin manufacture. Porous calcium phosphates comprising hydroxyapatite either as a single phase or a composite containing traces of its congeners. i.e., β-TCP were fabricated in the forms of granules and compacts. The characteristics of typical compacts produced were 37 v % apparent porosity with interconnected pores of diameter 1-30 µm, and flexural and compressive strengths of 17.51 and 78.13 MPa, respectively. Effects of fabrication parameters on the properties of the products were also studied. In addition, coralline hydroxyapatite-converted coral with preservation of its 200-µm-pore architecture, was also successfully produced. Keywords: Coralline hydroxyapatite, hydrothermal synthesis, porous calcium phosphates.