CIRIMAT, Université de Toulouse, CNRS/INPT/UPS, ENSIACET 118 route de Narbonne, Toulouse Cedex 4, France.
Acta Biomater. 2010 Feb;6(2):577-85. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2009.08.021. Epub 2009 Aug 15.
Nanocrystalline apatites analogous to bone mineral are very promising materials for the preparation of highly bioactive ceramics due to their unique intrinsic physico-chemical characteristics. Their surface reactivity is indeed linked to the presence of a metastable hydrated layer on the surface of the nanocrystals. Yet the sintering of such apatites by conventional techniques, at high temperature, strongly alters their physico-chemical characteristics and biological properties, which points out the need for "softer" sintering processes limiting such alterations. In the present work a non-conventional technique, spark plasma sintering, was used to consolidate such nanocrystalline apatites at non-conventional, very low temperatures (T<300 degrees C) so as to preserve the surface hydrated layer present on the nanocrystals. The bioceramics obtained were then thoroughly characterized by way of complementary techniques. In particular, microstructural, nanostructural and other major physico-chemical features were investigated and commented on. This work adds to the current international concern aiming at improving the capacities of present bioceramics, in view of elaborating a new generation of resorbable and highly bioactive ceramics for bone tissue engineering.
由于具有独特的固有物理化学特性，类似于骨矿物质的纳米晶磷灰石是制备高生物活性陶瓷的很有前途的材料。它们的表面反应性确实与纳米晶表面存在亚稳水合层有关。然而，通过传统技术在高温下烧结这些磷灰石会强烈改变它们的物理化学特性和生物特性，这表明需要“更温和”的烧结工艺来限制这种改变。在本工作中，使用非传统的火花等离子体烧结技术在非传统的、非常低的温度（T<300°C）下固结这些纳米晶磷灰石，以保持纳米晶表面存在的水合层。然后通过补充技术对获得的生物陶瓷进行了彻底的表征。特别是，研究和评论了微观结构、纳米结构和其他主要物理化学特征。这项工作增加了当前国际上提高现有生物陶瓷能力的关注，以期为骨组织工程开发新一代可吸收和高生物活性陶瓷。
