Control of in vivo mineral bone cement degradation

The current study aimed to prevent the formation of hydroxyapatite reprecipitates in brushite-forming biocements by minimizing the availability of free Ca²⁺ ions in the cement matrix. This was achieved by both maximizing the degree of cement setting to avoid unreacted, calcium-rich cement raw materials which can deliver Ca²⁺ directly to the cement matrix after dissolution, and by a reduction in porosity to reduce Ca²⁺ diffusion into the set cement matrix. In addition, a biocement based on the formation of the magnesium phosphate mineral struvite (MgNH₄PO₄·6H₂O) was tested, which should prevent the formation of low-solubility hydroxyapatite reprecipitates due to the high magnesium content. Different porosity levels were fabricated by altering the powder-to-liquid ratio at which the cements were mixed and the materials were implanted into mechanically unloaded femoral defects in sheep for up to 10 months. While the higher-porosity brushite cement quantitatively transformed into crystalline octacalcium phosphate after 10 months, slowing down cement resorption, a lower-porosity brushite cement modification was found to be chemically stable with the absence of reprecipitate formation and minor cement resorption from the implant surface. In contrast, struvite-forming cements were much more degradable due to the absence of mineral reprecipitates and a nearly quantitative cement degradation was found after 10 months of implantation.