Reactivity of BaTiO3-Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2 phases in composite materials for biomedical applications

Abstract

In this work the reactivity of barium titanate (BT) and hydroxyapatite (HA) composites from commercial and synthesized powders was studied. Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used for characterization of sintered composites. Moreover, biotoxicity assays were performed to evaluate the effect of secondary phases in the sintered composites in relation to BT and HA phases. The formation of secondary phases and transformation of hydroxypatite into tricalcium phosphate depended on the reactivity of the starting materials. The piezoelectric voltage coefficient, calculed from permittivity and piezoelectric constant for composites containing 20 vol% HA, generated promising values for a good osteogenic response. The secondary phases formation during the sintering process favored the ions release to the incubation solution; consequently, the composite biocompatibility highly depended on samples composition. Composites made of synthesized HA and commercial BT produced valuable results for biomedical applications.