Application of new forming and sintering techniques to obtain hydroxyapatite and beta-TCP nanostructured composites. M. Miranda, A. Fernández, E. Saiz, AP Tomsia, R. Torrecillas. 2011
International Journal of Materials Research 2010/01, Page 117-121, 2010
Calcium phosphate based bioceramics have an important position in the bone substitutions field, because of their excellent biocompatibility, bioactivity and osteoconduction characteristics. To enhance the bone ingrowth between implants and natural bone a hydroxyapatite/ß-tricalcium phosphate (HA/ß-TCP) composite has been chosen. The composites were formed by the robocasting technique for being sintered in conventional furnace under air. The behaviour of the system HA/ß-TCP was studied with the aim of employing the optimal conditions to sinter the samples formed by robocasting. The final composition in each sample was analyzed using X-ray diffraction and quantified by the Rietveld method. A powder mixture with the same HA/ß-TCP composition was formed and sintered by another non-conventional technique: Spark plasma sintering. Finally, the phase compositions and microstructures obtained by both techniques were