Influence of anti-washout agents on the rheological properties and injectability of a calcium phosphate cement

Anti-washout-type calcium phosphate cement (aw-CPC) was prepared by introducing chitosan, sodium alginate, or modified starch into the powder phase of CPC, respectively. The results showed that these cements cannot be washed out and set within approximately 10-30 min even if the pastes were immersed in distilled water immediately and were shaken in a shaker after mixing and moulding. To our knowledge, it is the first report about the influence of the content of these anti-washout additives on the rheological properties and injectability of the cement. Moreover, novel approach of yield stress measurement was used to evaluate the injectability of the pastes. A modified starch was originally used as anti-washout agent for CPC. This study provided a convenient way to use the injectable CPC with good anti-washout performance when the paste was exposed to blood. The aw-CPC had potential prospects for the wider applications in surgery such as orthopaedics, oral, and maxillofacial surgery. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.