Influence of pentavalent dopant addition to polarization and bioactivity of hydroxyapatite

Influence of pentavalent tantalum doping in bulk hydroxyapatite (HAp) ceramics has been investigated for polarizability and bioactivity. Phase analysis from X-ray diffraction measurement indicates that increasing dopant concentration decreased the amount of HAp phase and increased beta-TCP and/or alpha-TCP phases during sintering at 1250 degrees C in a muffle furnace. Results from thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) measurements showed that doping hindered charge storage ability in HAp ceramics, and doped samples stored fewer charge compared to pure HAp. However, doping enhanced wettability of HAp samples, which was improved further due to polarization. In vitro human osteoblast cell-material interaction study revealed an increase in bioactivity due to dopant addition and polarization compared to pure HAp. This increase in bioactivity was attributed to the increase in wettability due to surface charge and dopant addition. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.