Comparative study of different inorganic particles addition on the properties of chitosan/calcium sulfate composite bone cement

It is a great challenge to improve calcium sulfate bone cement properties. Here, nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HA), silica (SiO 2 ) and calcium phosphate (CP) were individually added to compare the improvement effect for calcium sulfate/chitosan composite bone cement. The results showed that three particles were all dispersed in calcium sulfate, which prolonged bone cement solidification time, and the proper amount of n-HA and SiO 2 increased the compressive strength, while CP resulted in a lower compressive strength because of the looser structure. Moreover, they did not cause excessive acid or alkali and had good biological activity during the degradation. More importantly, they all promoted cell proliferation, and SiO 2 had the best promotion effect. In a word, 2.5 % SiO 2 displayed the best reinforce effect, appropriate setting time and degradation rate as well as excellent cytocompatibility for calcium sulfate/chitosan composite bone cement, which would have a great potential to be used in bone defect repair field.