Papers by Keyword: Calcium Titanium Phosphate

Abstract: The reactivity of CaTi4(PO4)6 (CTP) with alumina and yttria-stabilized zirconia (Y-TZP) ceramics was studied. CTP powder was synthesized and composites with commercial alumina or zirconia matrices containing 10 wt% of CTP were prepared. They were sintered at different temperatures and characterized using XRD, SEM, and EDX analyses. The results showed that the alumina/CTP and Y-TZP/CTP composites start to react below 1000 °C. In the alumina/CTP composite the first reaction product, detected at 970 °C, was AlPO4. At temperatures above 1280 °C TiO2 and CaTiO3 were also formed and no CTP peaks could be detected using XRD analysis. The composite sintered at 1500 °C consisted of Al2O3 matrix, AlPO4, TiO2, CaTiO3 and Al2TiO5. The reaction products formed in the Y-TZP/CTP composite at 970 °C were TiO2 and Ca2Zr7O16. At higher sintering temperatures, 1280 °C and above, CTP was no longer present, Ca2Zr7O16 decomposed, forming CaO2 and ZrO2, and Y2O3 was consumed to form YPO4. Consequently, upon cooling to room temperature the matrix phase transformed to monoclinic ZrO2. Based on these results it can be concluded that CTP is not a suitable bioactive second phase for the fabrication of CTP composites with alumina or zirconia matrices.

Abstract: The ability of calcium titanium phosphate (CTP) and hydroxyapatite (HAp) microspheres to reversibly adsorb the enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCR) while preserving its biological activity, and efficiently deliver it to Gaucher disease (GD) fibroblasts was investigated. CTP microspheres adsorbed ca. 3.6-fold more GCR than HAp microspheres. The activity of adsorbed GCR was higher than the free enzyme in the case of CTP microspheres and lower when HAp was used. GCR release from both types of microspheres was characterized by the initial elution of a large percentage of enzyme followed by a delayed release that extended for at least 30 days. Released GCR was internalized by GD fibroblasts increasing their intracellular enzymatic activity. In cells treated with the same amount of GCR-loaded CTP microspheres or free-GCR a higher intracellular activity was detected in the former case, suggesting an improved efficacy.

Abstract: In this study, the addition of calcium phosphate powders to an alginate matrix was evaluated as a strategy to modulate enzyme release-kinetics from alginate microspheres and, simultaneously, to improve cell adhesion to the polymer. Pre-adsorption of the enzyme to the ceramic powders resulted in a more adequate release pattern. The ratio of ceramic-to-polymer had a pronounced effect on osteoblast adhesion to microspheres. Cells were only able to spread on microspheres with the highest percentage of ceramic (0.4 w/w using a 1.5% w/v alginate solution).