Calcium Phosphate Bone Cements Including Sugar Surfactants: Part One-Porosity, Setting Times and Compressive Strength.

Addition of sugar surfactants, sucrose fatty acid esters and alkylpolyglucosides, to calcium phosphate cement designed for bone reconstruction is described. Thanks to their surface activity and through their adsorption at the surface of the calcium phosphate particles, they both induced a strong increase in the porosity (quantified by Image Analysis) and brought a very good workability. Other properties typically studied for these cements are reported, including setting times, compressive strength, cohesion in water, and effect of sterilization on these properties. The whole study brought good insight in the interest of adding these mild surfactants to improve several properties of the calcium phosphate cement, without impairing their function.

Calcium Phosphate Bone Cements Including Sugar Surfactants: Part Two-Injectability, Adhesive Properties and Biocompatibility.

Addition of sugar surfactants, sucrose fatty acid esters and alkylpolyglucosides to a calcium phosphate cement, designed for bone reconstruction, is described. Thanks to their adsorption at the surface of the calcium phosphate particles, the sugar surfactants allowed a full injectability and brought a very good workability. Injectability was measured by monitoring force-distance curves. With some of the selected sugar surfactants adhesive properties of the cement pastes were also observed, which were measured by tack tests. Finally, some properties related to biological applications are described, including gentamicine release and osteoblast viability experiments. The whole study demonstrates that addition of these mild surfactants improved several properties of the calcium phosphate cement, without impairing function.