Synthesis of fluor-hydroxyapatite powder for plasma sprayed biomedical coatings: Characterization and improvement of the powder properties

Calcium phosphate powders synthesized from CaCO3 and CaO of natural origin using mechanical activation in different media combined with solid-state interaction

The highly pure and crystalline calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) and calcium oxide (CaO) with small amounts of As, Cd, Hg, and Pb were prepared by calcinating shells of a golden apple snail. Solid-state reaction and mechanical activation between the CaCO₃ and CaO from calcined golden apple snail shells and dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate (CaHPO₄•2H₂O, DCPD) were performed to develop calcium phosphate powders. The effects of the milling media used on the mechanical activation were examined. A solid-state reaction of manually mixed CaCO₃ or CaO with DCPD powders at a temperature of 1100 °C produced mostly β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP). Hydroxyapatite (HAp) with a small quantity of β-TCP could be produced from a mixed CaCO₃ + DCPD powder using dry and wet mechanical activations with distilled water, alcohol and acetone and from a mixed CaO + DCPD powder using dry mechanical activation combined with a solid-state reaction at a temperature of 1100 °C. A phase change of milled powders to β-TCP was clearly observed from a wet mechanical activation of CaO + DCPD powder with distilled water or alcohol in a solid-state reaction. The thermal instability of HAp powders from a combined mechanical activation with solid-state reaction of CaCO₃ or CaO and DCPD powders could result from two factors. The first is that the pollution was released from the balls and pot mill materials during the mechanical process. Another factor is a reduced level of calcium in the CaO + DCPD mixed powder due to a reaction between CaO and water or alcohol during mechanical milling.

Hierarchical Surface Texturing of Hydroxyapatite Ceramics: Influence on the Adhesive Bonding Strength of Polymeric Polycaprolactone

The tailored manipulation of ceramic surfaces gained recent interest to optimize the performance and lifetime of composite materials used as implants. In this work, a hierarchical surface texturing of hydroxyapatite (HAp) ceramics was developed to improve the poor adhesive bonding strength in hydroxyapatite and polycaprolactone (HAp/PCL) composites. Four different types of periodic surface morphologies (grooves, cylindric pits, linear waves and Gaussian hills) were realized by a ceramic micro-transfer molding technique in the submillimeter range. A subsequent surface roughening and functionalization on a micron to nanometer scale was obtained by two different etchings with hydrochloric and tartaric acid. An ensuing silane coupling with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) enhanced the chemical adhesion between the HAp surface and PCL on the nanometer scale by the formation of dipole-dipole interactions and covalent bonds. The adhesive bonding strengths of the individual and combined surface texturings were investigated by performing single-lap compressive shear tests. All individual texturing types (macro, micro and nano) showed significantly improved HAp/PCL interface strengths compared to the non-textured HAp reference, based on an enhanced mechanical, physical and chemical adhesion. The independent effect mechanisms allow the deliberately hierarchical combination of all texturing types without negative influences. The hierarchical surface-textured HAp showed a 6.5 times higher adhesive bonding strength (7.7 ± 1.5 MPa) than the non-textured reference, proving that surface texturing is an attractive method to optimize the component adhesion in composites for potential medical implants.

Influences of ionic liquid and temperature on the tailorable surface morphology of F-apatite nanocomposites for enhancing biological abilities for orthopedic implantation

This report has approached for the green synthesis of morphological controlled novel metal-doped fluorinated apatite/polymeric nanocomposites. The synthesized nanocomposites have investigated for hard tissue engineering and bone substitute applications. The selected fluoro ionic liquid explored the dual performances as fluorine precursor and as a soft template for the morphological development of apatite nanocomposite synthesis. The structural and surface studies (XRD, FTIR, FE-SEM, EDS, AFM, HR-TEM & SAED) confirmed the crystalline and morphological changes of synthesized fluorohydroxyapatite nanostructures at two different reaction temperatures. The fluorinated apatite nanocomposites doped with silver for metal-doped composites, which have effective antibacterial efficacy and favorable biocompatibility. The silver-doped nanocomposites showed excellent antibacterial ability against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacterial pathogens with the uniform release of silver and fluorine ions. These antibacterial performances have systematically tested by the quantitative and qualitative methods. The rod-like fluorinated apatite nanocrystals promote cell adhesion and viability of human osteosarcoma (MG-63) cell lines and these studies compared with the sheet-like apatite nanocomposites. This type of biomedical apatite materials may be a promising material for orthopedic implant and regeneration applications.