Investigation of the Physical and Microstructural Properties of Fluorapatite-Containing Bioglass-Ceramics

In today's world, because of many tragic events such as accidents, bone tumors, and sports injuries, there is a need for a material to repair the damages. Bioglass-ceramics are one of the appropriate answers to treat bone defects. In the present study, a new group of fluorapatite (FAp)-containing bioglass-ceramics particles has been synthesized with the composition of ۵۰SiO۲-۳۹CaO-۱۱P۲O۵. The mentioned particles were obtained by the sol-gel method due to its many advantages over traditional melting methods. To investigate the effect of the heat treatment temperature on the microstructure of the particles, three different cycles ۷۰۰°C, ۹۰۰°C, and ۱۱۰۰°C were selected as variable parameters. The above particles, then, were examined through different examinations such as thermal analysis, XRD, FTIR, and FESEM. Thermal analytical results in TGA represented a big mass loss that caused an extended endothermic peak in DTA data that proved the crystallinity of the synthesized particles. XRD results have also manifested the crystallization of FAp in the glassy matrix, in agreement with the FESEM. The morphology of spherulites in FESEM is a sign of crystalline FAp phase which was detected in the XRD results. FTIR spectroscopy represented that the increase in the amount of SiO۲ in the chemical composition of the particles eventually increased the intensity of the Si–O–Si bonds. Finally, the mentioned bioglass-ceramics were proved to be a good choice for bone tissue engineering applications.

Keywords:

Bioglass-ceramic particles , sol-gel , fluorapatite , spherulite