Characterization and in vitro evaluation of silicate-containing tricalcium phosphate prepared through wet chemical process

Tricalcium phosphate (TCP) ceramics are useful biodegradable bone-repairing materials. Silicate-containing TCP ceramics are expected to be useful as biodegradable bone-repairing materials which promote the bone regeneration because it has been reported that the silicate promotes bone formation. In the present study, silicate-containing TCP ceramics were prepared through a wet chemical process at the starting compositions from 0 to 0.05 in the Si/(P+Si) molar ratio. The prepared silicate-containing TCP ceramics were characterized and evaluated in vitro. The crystal phase of the products was ?-TCP, and the tendency that the lattice constants linearly shifted from 0 to 0.05 in the starting Si/(P+Si) molar ratio was observed. It is speculated that the added silicate was incorporated in the crystal structure of TCP. The pellets were prepared by a sintering process, and soaked in a simulated body fluid (SBF) to estimate their bone-bonding ability. The addition of silicate to TCP promoted to hydroxyapatite formation on the TCP ceramics in SBF. This result implies the high possibility that the silicate addition would promote the bone-bonding ability of the TCP ceramics.