Preparation and characterisation of calcium phosphate–hyaluronic acid nanocomposite bone cement

In this study, calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) were prepared by using hyaluronic acid (HA) solutions with two different molecular weights. The physical, physicochemical and structural properties of these cements were characterised and compared with those of conventional CPC as control group. Results revealed that the long setting time and the low compressive strength of the CPC could be improved drastically by using HA in the cement composition, in a molecular weight dependent manner. The HA polymer has also a promising effect on cement injectability, which is more considerable in high molecular weight HA. The X-ray diffraction patterns of set cements showed that, in both control group and HA containing cements, primary reactant components were completely converted to nanostructured apatite after soaking in simulated body fluid. This study suggests that calcium phosphate nanocomposite cement obtained by HA solution can be successfully used as injectable bone filler material.