The porous architecture of artificial bones plays a pivotal role in bone ingrowth. Although salt leaching methods produce predictable porous architectures, their application in the low-temperature fabrication of ceramics remains a challenge. Carbonate apatite (CO3 Ap) blocks with three ranges of pore sizes: 100-200, 200-400, and 400-600 μm, were fabricated from CaCO3 blocks with embedded Na2 HPO4 crystals as a porogen and accelerator for CaCO3 -to-CO3 Ap conversion. CaCO3 blocks were obtained from Ca(OH)2 compacts with Na2 HPO4 by CO2 flow at 100% humidity. When carbonated under 100% water humidity, the dissolution of Na2 HPO4 and the formation of hydroxyapatite were observed. Using 90% methanol and 10% water were beneficial in avoiding the Na2 HPO4 consumption and generating the metastable CaCO3 vaterite, which was rapidly converted into CO3 Ap in a Na2 HPO4 solution in 7 days. For the histological evaluation, the CO3 Ap blocks were implanted in rabbit femur defects. Four weeks after implantation, new bone was formed at the edges of the blocks. After 12 weeks, new bone was observed in the central areas of the material. Notably, CO3 Ap blocks with pore sizes of 100-200 μm were the most effective, exhibiting approximately 23% new bone area. This study sheds new light on the fabrication of tailored porous blocks and provides a useful guide for designing artificial bones.
Keywords: artificial bone; carbonate apatite; porous block; salt leaching.
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