title: Microstructure, mechanical characteristics and cell compatibility of β-tricalcium phosphate reinforced with biodegradable Fe-Mg metal phase.
abstract: The use of beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) ceramic as a bioresorbable bone substitute is limited to non-load-bearing sites by the material׳s brittleness and low bending strength. In the present work, new biocompatible β-TCP-based composites with improved mechanical properties were developed via reinforcing the ceramic matrix with 30 vol% of a biodegradable iron-magnesium metallic phase. β-TCP-15Fe15Mg and β-TCP-24Fe6Mg (vol%) composites were fabricated using a combination of high energy attrition milling, cold sintering/high pressure consolidation of powders at room temperature and annealing at 400 °C. The materials synthesized had a hierarchical nanocomposite structure with a nanocrystalline β-TCP matrix toughened by a finely dispersed nanoscale metallic phase (largely Mg) alongside micron-scale metallic reinforcements (largely Fe). Both compositions exhibited high strength characteristics; in bending, they were about 3-fold stronger than β-TCP reinforced with 30 vol% PLA polymer. Immersion in Ringer׳s solution for 4 weeks resulted in formation of corrosion products on the specimens׳ surface, a few percent weight loss and about 50% decrease in bending strength. In vitro studies of β-TCP-15Fe15Mg composite with human osteoblast monocultures and human osteoblast-endothelial cell co-cultures indicated that the composition was biocompatible for the growth and survival of both cell types and cells exhibited tissue-specific markers for bone formation and angiogenesis, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel. Electronic address: swains@technion.ac.il.
authors.forename: Sanjaya K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Swain
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel. Electronic address: gotman@tx.technion.ac.il.
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gotman
authors.affiliation: REPAIR-lab, Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, 55101 Mainz, Germany. Electronic address: runger@uni-mainz.de.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Unger
authors.affiliation: REPAIR-lab, Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, 55101 Mainz, Germany. Electronic address: kirkpatrick@uni-mainz.de.
authors.forename: C James
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Kirkpatrick
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel. Electronic address: gutmanas@tx.techhnion.ac.il.
authors.forename: Elazar Y
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Gutmanas
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002130:Calcium Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry*; D002460:Cell Line; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008274:Magnesium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008422:Materials Testing; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002130:Calcium Phosphates; C485817:beta-tricalcium phosphate; D007501:Iron; D008274:Magnesium
keywords: Bending strength; Cell culture; Iron; Magnesium; Nanocomposite; β-tricalcium phosphate