title: Indirect selective laser sintering of an apatite-mullite glass-ceramic for potential use in bone replacement applications.
abstract: The feasibility of using indirect selective laser sintering (SLS) to produce parts from glass-ceramic materials for bone replacement applications has been investigated. A castable glass based on the system SiO2 x Al2O3 x P2O5 x CaO x CaF2 that crystallizes to a glass-ceramic with apatite and mullite phases was produced, blended with an acrylic binder, and processed by SLS. Green parts with good structural integrity were produced using a wide range of processing conditions, allowing both monolayer and multilayer components to be constructed. Following SLS the parts were post-processed to remove the binder and to crystallize fully the material, evolving the apatite and mullite phases. The parts were heated to 1200 degrees C using a number of different time-temperature profiles, following which the processed material was analysed by differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy, and tested for flexural strength. An increase in strength was achieved by infiltrating the brown parts with a resorbable phosphate glass, although this altered the crystal phases present in the material.
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Goodridge
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Dalgarno
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Wood
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000737:chemistry*; D001031:Apatites / Q000737:chemistry*; D018786:Bone Substitutes / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry*; D004548:Elasticity; D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007834:Lasers; D008422:Materials Testing; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D013718:Tensile Strength
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D001031:Apatites; D018786:Bone Substitutes; C049037:aluminosilicate