Preparation and characterization of zinc doped biphasic-calcium phopshate for biomedical application

Abstract

Biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) has received lot of interest as an alternative bone graft substitute in bone tissue engineering applications. BCP is the mixture of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and $\beta$ -TCP that have both osteoconductive and bioresorbable properties. The zinc ion has a well-established role in promoting new bone formation and, hence, incorporation of Zn into BCP is expected to improve its properties. In this study, we synthesized undoped and zinc-doped biphasic calcium phosphate in different weight ratios. Undoped and zinc-doped HAp and $\beta$ -TCP were synthesized using a simple wet-chemical method. HAp $/\beta$ -TCP powders were mixed in different ratios, like 50:50 and 60:40 weight ratio. After sintering at 1100°C, the BCP pellets were characterized using an X-Ray diffractometer. It was found that HAp was the primary phase in majority of all composites. The quantity of $\beta$ - TCP was greater in the doped 50:50 composite than that of the other specimens. Raman spectroscopy revealed the presence of phosphate bands in all specimens. The zinc release study showed that up to 14 days after zinc release was consistently increased, and after 28 days, the release was reduced because of the development an apatite on surface.