Injectability evaluation of tricalcium phosphate bone cement

Calcium phosphate cements are biomaterials made from a mixture of calcium phosphate powder in aqueous solutions that forms a paste that reacts at the body temperature and hardens as a result of precipitation reactions. These cements are commonly used in dentistry and orthopedic bone filling surgeries, which require extremely invasive procedures. The challenge consists in formulating an injectable paste by additives incorporation. In this work, three different additives (carboxymethylcellulose, agar polymer and sodium alginate) were incorporated to tricalcium phosphate, in concentrations of 0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.2 and 6.4 wt.%. Injectability was evaluated through a new method developed for this purpose. Results showed that it was possible to obtain injectable compositions of α-tricalcium phosphate cement. It was verified that the injectability depends on the rheological behavior of the pastes and injection time. In this study, pastes with viscosity suitable for good homogenization and injection were obtained.