Poly(acrylic acid) modified calcium phosphate cements: the effect of the composition of the cement powder and of the molecular weight and concentration of the polymeric acid

Polymer modified calcium phosphate cements made with cement powders of varying tetracalcium phosphate [TTCP] content were prepared using two different molecular weight fractions of poly(acrylic acid) at four different concentrations. The ratio of the precursors (TTCP:DCPA) in the cement powder was found to influence the initial setting which decreased with increasing concentration of TTCP in the powder phase. It was also observed that cements derived from the higher molecular weight containing PAA yielded significantly (P < 0.05) shorter initial setting time (Ti) than cements containing the lower molecular weight, poly(acrylic acid) [GE7 PAA] The effect of the varying the TTCP content in the three different cement types PCPC-A, PCPC-B and PCPC-C showed that the trends of the compressive strength were specific to the concentration and molecular weight of the poly (acrylic acid). A 20% concentration of Glascol-E7 with a cement powder composed of an equimolar ratio of precursors (PCPC-B) resulted in optimal compressive strength within the range investigated. The TTCP content of the cement powder could also be varied to improve the diametral tensile strengths of the cements; the specific effects however, were again governed by both the concentration and molecular weight of the constituent poly (acrylic acid). The influence of TTCP on both the initial setting time and diametral tensile strength was related to the Ca 2+ ion concentration, which determined the rate and amount of cross-linking in the cement.