Calcium Phosphate Open Porous Scaffold Bioceramics

Calcium phosphate (CaP) ceramics possessing an interconnecting porosity network in the appropriate size range for vascularisation offer the possibility of providing a structural matrix for replacement of diseased or damaged bone. Such bioceramics must possess sufficient mechanical strength to avoid failure whilst offering a bioactive surface for bone regeneration. The objective of the current study was to produce a hydroxyapatite/tricalcium phosphate (HA/TCP) bioceramic that imitated the orientated trabecular structure found in cancellous bone. The structure-property relationship of these bioceramics was then analysed. It was hypothesised that the mechanical properties would be linked to the shape of the pore structure due to the orientation of the open porous scaffolds (OPS) produced. OPS bioceramics possessed an interconnected macroporosity network of 40-70% by volume with bending strengths of 0.30MPa ± 0.01MPa and apparent densities of 0.35g/cm3 ± 0.05g/cm3. Typically, pore sizes in the range of 150-300µm were produced. The fabrication of CaP OPS resulted in a wide range of macroporosity in the correct size range for osseointegration to occur. Elongating the pore structure did not affect the total porosity of the bioceramics. Strengths were low due to microcrack formation on sintering and not due to the shape of the pores present in the scaffold as initially hypothesised.