Fabrication of bone cement that fully transforms to carbonate apatite

The objective of this study was to fabricate a type of bone cement that could fully transform to carbonate apatite (CO₃Ap) in physiological conditions. A combination of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) and dicalcium phosphate anhydrous was chosen as the powder phase and mixed with one of three kinds of sodium phosphate solutions: NaH₂PO₄, Na₂HPO₄, or Na₃PO₄. The cement that fully transformed to CO₃Ap was fabricated using vaterite, instead of calcite, as a CaCO₃ source. Their stability in aqueous solutions was different, regardless of the type of sodium phosphate solution. Rate of transformation to CO₃Ap in descending order was Na₃PO₄>Na₂HPO₄>NaH₂PO₄. Transformation rate could be affected by the pH of solution. Results of this study showed that it was advantageous to use vaterite to fabricate CO₃Ap-forming cement.