A powder mixture of 70 wt% Al2O3 and 30 wt% hydroxyapatite (HA) is sintered at 1300 ℃ or 1350 ℃ for 2 h at normal pressure. An MgF2-added composition to make HA into fluorapatite (FA) is also prepared for comparison. The samples without MgF2 show α & β-tricalcium phosphates (TCPs) and Al2O3 phases with no HA at either of the sintering temperatures. In the case of 1,350 ℃, a CaAl4O7 phase is also found. Densification values are 69 and 78 %, and strengths are 156 and 104MPa for 1,300 and 1,350 ℃, respectively. Because the decomposition of HA produces a H2O vapor, fewer large pores of 5-6 μm form at 1,300 ℃. The MgF2-added samples show FA and Al2O3 phases with no TCP. Densification values are 79 and 87%, and strengths are 104 and 143 MPa for 1,300 and 1,350 ℃, respectively. No large pores are observed, and the grain size of FA (1-2 μm) is bigger than that of TCP (0.7 μm ≥) in the samples without MgF2. The resulting TCP/Al2O3 and FA/Al2O3 composites fabricated in situ exhibit strengths 6-10 times higher than monolithic TCP and HA.

β-Tricalcium phosphate (TCP) was added to Al2O3 to make a biomaterial with good mechanical properties. Using a TCP powder synthesized by a polymer complexation method, Al2O3 composites containing 30 wt% TCP were fabricated and characterized for densification, phase, microstructure, strength, and fracture toughness. With optimizing the powder preparation conditions, a high densification of 97 % was obtained by sintering at 1350 ℃ for 2 h. No reaction between the two components occurred and there was no transition to α-TCP. TCP grains with a size of 2-4 μm were well surrounded by Al2O3 grains with a size of 1 μm or less. Strength 61(Brazilian) or 187(3-p MOR) MPa, and fracture toughness 1.7 (notched beam) or 2.5 (indentation) MPa·m1/2 were obtained, which are large improvements over the strength of TCP/Al2O3 composites and toughness of TCP and hydroxyapatite in previous studies.

다능성 세포를 포함하는 골막은 골모세포와 연골세포로 분화될 수 있다. 그리고 배양된 골막유래세포는 골형성 능 력을 가지고 있다. 이 연구의 목적은 골막유래 세포들과 골이식재 간의 상호작용을 평가하는 것이다. Sprague-Dawley 랫드의 두개골 골막에서 세포를 분리한 다음, 배양된 골막유래세포를 beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP)와 함께 임계결손부 크기의 두개결손부에 이식하였다. 모든 랫드는 골이식 수술 후 8주째에 희생되었으며, 골이식부의 골형성 능력은 일반방사선, micro CT 및 조직검사를 통해 평가되었다. β-TCP와 함께 이식된 골막유래세 포는 골결손부에서 더욱 증가된 석회화작용을 나타내었으며, 골결손부 안쪽 및 가장자리에 골밀도 증가와 신생골이 형 성되었다. 특히 골막유래세포는 β-TCP만 단독으로 이식하였을때보다 함께 이식 시 효과적으로 신생골을 형성하였다. 이러한 결과는 배양된 골막유래세포가 골결손부에서 골형성을 증진시킬 수 있는 가능성을 보였다.