Influence of magnesium and silver ions on rheological properties of hydroxyapatite/chitosan/calcium sulphate based bone cements

Rheology of bioceramic bone cements is usually described as properties of ceramic slurries, neglecting the self-setting character of these materials. In our studies calcium sulphate based bone cements with Ag+, Mg2+ and Mg2+/CO32- modified hydroxyapatite were investigated. Despite of expectations, it has been proven that the presence of magnesium ions significantly influence the rheological properties of cement pastes. Changes in rheological properties were connected with (I) chemical interactions between Mg2+ and sulphate ions (II) chemical interaction between Mg2+ and chitosan. These effects were not observed for silver additive. Most of the developed calcium sulphate based pastes, except material containing MgHA and chitosan, have been categorized as thick pastes applicable with the spatula. It has been found that the chitosan present around and at the calcium sulphate grains acted as a lubricant and prolong the period of quasi-constant viscosity of the pastes.