Kazuaki Hashimoto
Fabrication of β-Tricalcium Phosphate Ceramic Substituted with Silicon
Kazuaki Hashimoto, Yasutaka Sekiguchi, Nobuyuki Tomizawa, Hirobumi Shibata
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Chiba Institute of Technology
Beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-Ca3(PO4)2:β-TCP) is in wide use in surgery as a bone substitute due to its high biocompatibility, bone substitution ability, and osteoconductivity. Its rate of bone resorption in the living body should ideally match the rate of new bone formation. The properties of β-TCP are close to that of living bone; however, it shows higher solubility and lower mechanical strength. We have previously reported how these drawbacks can be counteracted by substituting various metal ions into the Ca and/or P sites in the β-TCP structure.
In this study, we fabricated a sintered β-TCP body with a proportion of its P ions substituted with Si ions, which promote bone formation. The obtained sintered body with 2 – 3 mol% of Si additive showed improved sinterability, enhanced mechanical strength and high density. This sintered body thus has clear potential as a new bio-ceramic material.