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Poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) has been synthesized by ring-opening bulk polymerization of l-lactide in porous hydroxyapatite (HAp) matrix without any additional catalyst, and this hybridizing process directly provided artificial bone materials. The obtained PLLA/HAp composites had enough mechanical properties with a bending strength of 53.7 MPa, which was 2.3 times stronger than porous HAp, and showed excellent biocompatibility for clinical applications.

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Hybrids of ¢-tricalcium phosphate (¢-TCP) and poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) have been fabricated, which can be expected to be a novel filler for biodegradable bone grafting. Firstly, porous ¢-TCP ceramics have been made of calcium-phosphate fiber synthesized by homogeneous precipitation method. Then, the hybrids have been fabricated by introducing PLLA having highmolecular-weight into the open pores of the porous ¢-TCP ceramics. The mechanical property was enhanced, for example, by annealing the hybrids at 140°C for 24 h; the bending strength was 17.1 MPa, which was about 1.5 times that of the porous ¢-TCP ceramics. The biocompatibility has been examined using osteoblastic cell, MC3T3-E1, and found to be comparable to that of pure ¢-TCP ceramics.

Biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) ceramics with well-controlled pores were fabricated by sintering mixtures of synthetic hydroxyapatite (HAp) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). BCP ceramics with macro- and micropores revealed excellent cell proliferation as a result of suitable surface topography and phase composition.