SINTERING AND OSTEOCLAST BEHAVIOR OF CARBONATE APATITE CERAMICS

B-type carbonate apatite (CA) substituting for phosphate ions, is the major inorganic components of vertebrate bones. CA is more biodegradable than HA and has been expected as a next generation biomaterial. We had reported that the polarized HA could promote bone healing. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the electrically polarization on CA characterization. CA synthesized by wet method was sintered at various temperatures in carbon dioxide atmosphere. The TG measurement and polarization treatment of the sintered CA were performed. From the results of XRD and FT-IR analyses, CA was inclusion of contain carbonate about 5wt%. From TSDC measurement, the quantity of accumulated charges of CA was larger than HA. In addition, we evaluated the osteoclast behaviors on non-polarized CA and polarized CA. From the observation of cell morphology, there were multinucleated cells having actin ring structures specific for the activated osteoclasts on the CA surfaces. (Received May 7 2012; Accepted August 6, 2012)