Organoapatites: materials for artificial bone. II. Hardening reactions and properties.

This article reports on chemical reactions and the properties they generated in artificial bone materials termed "organoapatites." These materials are synthesized using methodology we reported in the previous article of this series. Two different processes were studied here for the transition from organoapatite particles to implants suitable for the restoration of the skeletal system. One process involved the hardening of powder compacts by beams of blue light derived from a lamp or a laser and the other involved pressure-induced interdiffusion of polymers. In both cases, the hardening reaction involved the formation of a polyion complex between two polyelectrolytes. In the photo-induced reaction an anionic electrolyte polymerizes to form the coulombic network and in the pressure-induced one, pressure forms the complex by interdiffusion of two polyions. Model reactions were studied using various polycations. Based on these results the organoapatite selected for the study was that containing dispersed poly(L-lysine) and sodium acrylate as the anionic monomer. The organomineral particles can be pressed at room temperature into objects of great physical integrity and hydrolytic stability relative to anorganic controls. The remarkable fact about these objects is that intimate molecular dispersion of only 2-3% by weight organic material provides integrity to the mineral network in an aqueous medium and also doubles its tensile strength. This integrity is essentially nonexistent in "anorganic" samples prepared by the same methodology used in organoapatite synthesis. The improvement in properties was most effectively produced by molecular bridges formed by photopolymerization. The photopolymerization leads to the "hardening" of pellets prepared by pressing of organoapatite powders. The reaction was found to be more facile in the microstructure of the organomineral, and it is potentially useful in the surgical application of organoapatites as artificial bone.