STUDY ON THE INCORPORATION OF CALCIUM CARBONATE HYDROGEL INTO CALCIUM SULPHATE FOR BONE SUBSTITUTION PURPOSES, A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Calcium sulphate-calcium carbonate hydrogel was investigated to be a candidate of bone subtitute material. Calcium sulphate is known to be biocompatible and bioactive but it is resorbed faster tha n formation of new bone in vivo. Meanwhile, calcium carbonate which is based on sea coral has similarity to trabecular bone for its porous structure and is known to have good resorbability and osteoconductivity. In this study, the properties of the composite were characterized by XRDand FT-IRafter 1, 4, and 8 weeks implantations. Nine male Sprague dawley rats, 5 months old, weighing about 300-350g were used in this study. Three treatment groups were created: (1) Implanted with 100% calcium sulphate, namely CS-100, (2) Implanted with CS-75 (Calcium sulphate: Calcium carbonate hydrogel=75:25), and (3) Implanted with CS-50 (Calcium sulphate: Calcium carbonate hydrogel=50:50). The cylindrical samples (2.5mm in diameterX3mm in depth) were placed from both external sides of the femure condyles for each rat. The bone defect preparation was performed with a gentle surgical technique using low rotational drill speeds and continuous internal cooling with saline solution. The result indicates that the composites were appropiate to be used as scaffold for bone tissue engineering, because the composites were completely transformed into carbonate apatite and able to preserve the defect area up to 8 weeks upon implantation.