The Effect of Different Substitutions (Cobalt, Copper, Strontium and Zinc) on the Properties of Akermanite Bioceramic: A Comparative Experimental Study

Abstract

Bioactive ceramics paly vital role in tissue engineering. One of the most important silicate base bioceramics is akermanite. In this research, the akermanite powder, was synthetized using sol-gel method and the effect of different substituents of Cobalt, Copper, Strontium and Zinc on its properties investigated. Results of Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) observation and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), revealed that the substituents had significant effect on the morphology of powder particles of akermanite, and also the phases of samples. The results of 3-point bending test on sintered samples in cubic form, revealed that substituents affect the bending strength of akermanite, and highest strength were 97 MPa related to the Co- substituted akermanite. After soaking akermanite samples including different substituents in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) for apatite forming ability measurement, the results of SEM observation, Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and XRD analysis revealed that all samples had appropriate apatite forming ability and Zn-substituted and unsubstituted akermanite samples had the highest. Also, the result of cell viability measurement via MTT test indicated that the Zn-substituted akermanite had the highest cell viability among all. Noting all results, the Zn-substituted akermanite had the optimum properties for bone tissue engineering.