Calcium Phosphates as Fillers in Struvite Cements

Struvite or magnesium ammonium phosphate MgNH4PO4 has been proposed as active component in setting surgical cements. The usual formulation is one in which the magnesium component in the powder is either magnesium hydrogen phosphate trihydrate or trimagnesium phosphate or a mixture of these two compounds. As the cement liquid a concentrated solution of diammonium phosphate is taken. To make the cement attractive as a bone substitute material a calcium phosphate filler is generally incorporated. Thus such materials are a type of pseudo calcium phosphate cements. This study was intended to find out which calcium phosphate and which magnesium compound are the most suitable. In the first series of experiments a mixture of 12 g Mg3(PO4)2 and 4 g MgHPO4.3H2O was used as the magnesium component in the powder. To that powder 30 g of either precipitated hydroxyapatite PHA or CaHPO4 or CaHPO4.H2O or b-TCP or a-TCP was added. The cement liquid was a 3.5 M solution of (NH4)2HPO4. At specific liquid/powder ratios L/P suitable setting times were obtained for the different formulations. However, the compressive strengths after immersion of the cements in 0.9% saline solution at 37°C varied over a large range. The best formulation was that with a-TCP which reached a compressive strength of 57 MPa after 18 h of immersion. In the second series of experiments 20 g of Mg3(PO4)2 was used as the magnesium component in the powder. Again 30 g of either of the above mentioned calcium phosphates was used as filler and again a 3.5 M solution of (NH4)2HPO4 was used as the cement liquid. At the appropriate L/P ratios the respective setting times were longer than in the first series of experiments but all five formulations appeared to result in good compressive strengths varying from 41 MPa for the formulation with b-TCP to 67 MPa for the formulation with PHA. In the third series of experiments 30 g a-TCP was taken as the calcium phosphate in the powder. As magnesium components mixtures of Mg3(PO4)2.8H2O and MgHPO4.3H2O and Mg3(PO4)2 were used. Again the cement liquid consisted of a 3.5 M solution of (NH4)2HPO4. The formulations with Mg3(PO4)2.8H2O had the shortest setting times and the lowest compressive strengths, whereas those with Mg3(PO4)2 had the longest setting times and the highest compressive strengths. Therefore, it is advantageous to use Mg3(PO4)2 as the magnesium component.