Fabrication of Composites from Apatite and Chemically Synthesized Collagen

Chemically synthesized collagen with triple helix structure similar to natural collagen has been developed as a safe biomaterial. If the chemically synthesized collagen is deposited with apatite, they are expected for novel bone substitutes having bioactivity and bioresorbability. Although apatite formation on the chemically synthesized collagen has been examined, highly supersaturated condition such as 1.5SBF with ion concentration 1.5 times those of simulated body fluid (SBF) is needed to achieve apatite formation. In the present study, we intended acceleration on the apatite formation on the chemically synthesized collagen by immobilization with polyglutamic acid (PGA). PGA is known as biodegradable and biocompatible polypeptide having excellent apatite-forming ability. We examined effects of the immobilization procedure on mineralization behavior in SBF. At first, PGA was immobilized on porous sponges of chemically synthesized collagen in aqueous solutions containing PGA and CaCl2. As a result, not only apatite but also calcite-type CaCO3 was deposited on the specimens in SBF. The calcite formation was occurred during the treatment with PGA solution. pH of the solution was adjusted to 7 by NaOH solution in order to avoid dissolution of the collagen. During this procedure, Ca (OH)2 would be precipitated by locally increase in pH of the solution and converted into the calcite. When the PGA solution treatment was shortened so as to prevent the calcite formation, single phase of the apatite was formed in SBF. The present results indicate that crystalline phase deposited on the chemically synthesized collagen can be controlled by fabrication procedure, and provide fundamental design of composites containing apatite and chemically synthesized collagen useful for bone regeneration.

Biomimetic transformations of amorphous calcium phosphate: kinetic and thermodynamic studies

The biomimetic synthesis and phase transformation of XRD amorphous calcium phosphate were studied by application of kinetic, chemical and spectral (XRD and IR) methods and thermodynamic simulations. Two SBFs (SBFc and SBFr), differing in their HCO(3)(-) and Cl(-) ion contents, were used in the maturation studies. It has been proven that the biomimetic maturation accelerated the phase transformation of less thermodynamically stable amorphous calcium phosphate to poorly crystalline hydroxyapatite. Several regularities have been found: (i) kinetic reasons determined the biomimetic precipitation of XRD-amorphous calcium deficient phosphate (ACP); (ii) the precipitated ACP always contained impurities due to co-precipitation, ion substitution and incorporation phenomena; (iii) the increased content of HCO(3)(-) ions in the surrounding microenvironments increased the rate of phase transformation and the concentration of MeHCO(3)(+) (Me = Ca, Mg) species in the solution, but the solubility of CaCO(3) has only been decreased and its precipitation accelerated, thus playing a crucial role in the process under study.