Affiliations: Department of Orthopedics, General Hospital of People's Liberation Army, Beijing, China | Department of Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, China | Biomaterials Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China | Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
Note: [] Keya Mao and Feihu Zhou contributed equally to this study and are joint first authors.
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Yan Wang, Department of Orthopedics, General Hospital of People's Liberation Army, 28 Fuxing Road, Beijing 100853, China. Tel.: +86 10 66938302; Fax: +86 10 88219862; E-mail: yanwang301@yahoo.com
Abstract: Autogenous bone graft carries the risk of complications. In contrast, artificial bone graft provides initial strength and allows new bone ingrowth. In this study, we examined methods of preparation of α-calcium sulphate hemihydrate (α-CSH) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP), and a composite of the two materials. Characterization of the materials was determined with X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis (DTA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and porosity analysis. β-TCP exhibited the spatial structure and porosity of normal bone with a macropore size of 50–400 μm and some 1 μm micropores. α-CSH exhibited a regular crystal structure. A combined material was prepared in a 1:1 weight ratio, and in a rabbit model, the rate of new bone mineralization was similar to that of autogenous bone graft. The combined material of β-TCP and α-CSH in this study may provide similar efficacy as autogenous bone graft.
