In order to study the biodegradation behavior of calcium phosphate materials, cylinders of standard size were implanted in the tibiae of rabbits. Material parameters were stoichiometry (hydroxyapatite with a Ca/P ratio of 1.67 versus tricalcium phosphate with a Ca/P ratio of 1.50), crystallographic structure (apatite versus beta-whitlockite), microporosity, and macroporosity. The extent of biodegradation was evaluated by radiography, light and fluorescence microscopy, microradiography, and porosity measurements. All calcium phosphate materials were biocompatible in bone tissue. Hydroxyapatite ceramics had a higher osteogenic potential than beta-whitlockite materials. Depending on their porosities, sintered tricalciumphosphate (beta-whitlockite) materials were more or less biodegradable, in contrast to sintered hydroxyapatite materials, which showed no detectable resorption over a period of 9 months of implantation.

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