Control of the size, shape and composition of highly uniform, non-agglomerated, sub-micrometer β-tricalcium phosphate and dicalcium phosphate platelets

Abstract Calcium phosphates (CaPs) are widely used as bone graft substitutes but are inherently brittle, hence restricting their use to mechanically protected environments. Combining them with a tough polymer matrix could potentially lead to a composite with load-bearing properties. However, the hig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biomaterials 2013-09, Vol.34 (27), p.6388-6401
Main Authors: Galea, Laetitia, Bohner, Marc, Thuering, Juerg, Doebelin, Nicola, Aneziris, Christos G, Graule, Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advanced Basic Science
Biomaterial
Bone Substitutes - chemistry
Bones
Calcium phosphate
Calcium Phosphates - chemistry
Chemical Precipitation
Concentration (composition)
Dentistry
Dispersions
Ethylene Glycol - chemistry
Ethylene glycol-assisted synthesis
Growth mechanism
Monetite
Monodisperse
Particle Size
Particulate composites
Phosphates
Platelets
Standard deviation
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Summary:Abstract Calcium phosphates (CaPs) are widely used as bone graft substitutes but are inherently brittle, hence restricting their use to mechanically protected environments. Combining them with a tough polymer matrix could potentially lead to a composite with load-bearing properties. However, the highest mechanical properties can only be achieved if the CaP particles possess very precise features: they should be uniform in size and shape, non-agglomerated, elongated and thin. The aim of the present study therefore was to assess a novel method to produce such particles. This involved the precipitation of CaP particles in ethylene glycol at moderate temperatures (90–170 °C) and the variation of different reaction parameters (temperature, concentration, pH, etc) to study their influence on particle composition, size, shape and dispersion was studied. As a result, two main CaP phases were obtained as well-dispersed and highly uniform platelets in the form of: (i) β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) hexagonal prisms and (ii) monetite (DCP) flat parallelepipeds. The size dispersion was the narrowest for β-TCP (standard deviation/mean 
ISSN:0142-9612
1878-5905
DOI:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2013.05.026