Analysis of the osteogenic and mechanical characteristics of iron (Fe2+/Fe3+)-doped β-calcium pyrophosphate

The calcium phosphate is the main mineral constituent of bone. Although there has been significant amount of research on finding ideal synthetic bone, no suitable scaffold material has yet been found. In this investigation, the iron doped brushite (CaHPO4 center dot 2H(2)O) has been investigated for osteogenic potential and mechanical properties. The synthesis of iron-oxide doping in the form of Fe-2+(,3+)-ions were carried out using the solution based method in which the ammonium hydrogen phosphate and calcium nitrate solutions were used in stoichiometric ratio for synthesizing CaHPO4 center dot 2H(2)O, with doping concentrations of Fe-2+(,3+)-ions between 5 mol% and 30 mol%. The synthesized powders were analysed using X-ray powder diffraction, FTIR, SEM and Raman spectroscopic techniques. The heat treatment of synthesized powder was carried out at 1000 degrees C in air for 5 h, and it was found that the dominant crystalline phase in samples with < 20 mol% was beta-CPP, which also formed an iron-rich solid solution phase. Increasing the concentrations of Fe-2+(,3+)-ions enhances the phase fraction of FePO4 and amorphous phase. Amongst the Fe-2+(,3+)-doped beta-CPP minerals, it was found that the 10 mol% Fe-2+(,3+)-doped beta-CPP offers the best combination of bio-mechanical and osteogenic properties as a scaffold for bone tissue regenerative engineering.