ABSTRACT
As populations in the developed world grow increasingly older, the demand for synthetic materials to replace and repair bone tissue lost from injury or disease significantly increases (Hench and Polak 2002; Hench and Thompson 2010). It is reported that around 60% of the bone graft substitutes available on the market involve ceramics. These mainly include calcium sulphate (plaster of Paris) (Georgiade et al. 1993), calcium phosphate (Ca-P) ceramics, and bioactive glasses (Hench and Wilson 1984). The common characteristics of these ceramics are that they possess osteogenic activity and can be used for bone regeneration application. Calcium sulphate (plaster of Paris) has had a long clinical history for use as a bone graft substitute in various skeletal sites including mandibular, craniofacial, and long bone defects (Georgiade et al. 1993). The drawback of this material is its high degradation rate, which may result in mismatching with new bone formation (Varlet and Dauchy
CONTENTS
2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................25 2.2 Preparation and Characterization of Silicate Bioceramics ..................... 27
2.2.1 Preparation of Silicate Bioceramics with Different Compositions .................................................................................... 27
2.2.2 Mechanical Strength of Silicate Bioceramics ............................... 31 2.3 Physicochemical and Self-Setting Properties of Silicate Ceramics ....... 32 2.4 Biological Response of Bone-Forming Cells to Silicate Ceramics .........35
