title: Hydroxyapatite-based porous aggregates: physico-chemical nature, structure, texture and architecture.
abstract: At the request of medical teams from the maxillofacial sector, a highly porous ceramic support based on hydroxyapatite of around 70-80% porosity was produced with a pore size distribution similar to bone texture (< 10 microns, approximately 3 vol%; 10-150 microns, approximately 110 vol%; > 150 microns, approximately 86 vol%). The ceramic substrates were conceived not only as a fillers for bone cavities, but also for use as drug dispensers and as supports to host cells to produce particular therapeutic agents. A method is suggested to obtain a substrate of high porosity, exploiting the impregnation of spongy substrate with hydroxyapatite ceramic particles. X-ray and scanning electron microscopy analyses were carried out to evaluate the nature of the new ceramic support in comparison with the most common commercial product; pore size distribution and porosity were controlled to known hydroxyapatite ceramic architecture for the different possible uses.
authors.affiliation: CNR, Research Institute for Ceramics Technology, Faenza, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fabbri
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Celotti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ravaglioli
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004577:Electron Probe Microanalysis; D006882:Hydroxyapatites / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008447:Maxillofacial Prosthesis / Q000592:standards*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D016062:Porosity; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D006882:Hydroxyapatites