Collagen/hydroxyapatite composite materials with desired ceramic properties

Abstract

Our purpose was to obtain and characterize some collagen/hydroxyapatite (COLL/HA) hybrid composite materials with desired ceramic properties. The ceramic properties of these materials were achieved by combining two drying methods: controlled air drying at 30°C followed by freeze-drying. Through the function of the air drying times, the materials morphology varies from porous materials (when the materials are freeze-dried) up to dense materials (when the materials are air-dried), while the combined drying allows us to obtain an intermediary morphology. The composite materials intended to be used as bone grafts and in a drug delivery system were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, and also by determining the ceramic properties by using the Arthur method. The ceramic properties of these COLL/HA composite materials vary in large range, for instance the density of the materials varies from 0.06 up to 1.5 g/cm(3) while the porosity varies from 96.5% down to 27.5%.