Novel production and characterization of porous calcium phosphate suitable for bone tissue engineering applications

Porous calcium phosphate materials have found enormous use in biomedical applications including hard tissue regeneration. In this study, tailored made open-cell porous calcium phosphate samples were produced by employing a novel dissolution sintering process, using crystalline raw cane sugar as a leachable pore former material. The process parameters of the production stages were properly adjusted to optimise the quality and structure of open-cell porous calcium phosphatesamples. The influence of sintering conditions on the macro and micro-structure of the resultant porous product is investigated with a view to produce high-quality and strong porous calcium phosphate samples. Preliminary in-vitro biodegradation results indicate formation of a bone-like apatite on the porous samples surface. Mechanical performance of the produced porous calcium phosphate samples is interesting and dictates their potential use as low load-bearing implants for hard tissue replacement or as filling materials and scaffolds for cancellous bone defects repairs.