Indirect selective laser sintering of an apatite-mullite glass-ceramic for potential use in bone replacement applications

• Published in: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part H, Journal of engineering in medicine Vol. 220; no. 1; p. 57
• Main Authors: Goodridge, R D, Dalgarno, K W, Wood, D J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-01-2006
• Subjects: Aluminum Silicates - chemistry; Apatites - chemistry; Bone Substitutes - analysis; Bone Substitutes - chemistry; Ceramics - chemistry; Elasticity; Glass - chemistry; Hot Temperature; Lasers; Materials Testing; Particle Size; Surface Properties; Tensile Strength
• ISSN: 0954-4119
• DOI: 10.1243/095441105X69051

The feasibility of using indirect selective laser sintering (SLS) to produce parts from glass-ceramic materials for bone replacement applications has been investigated. A castable glass based on the system SiO2 x Al2O3 x P2O5 x CaO x CaF2 that crystallizes to a glass-ceramic with apatite and mullite phases was produced, blended with an acrylic binder, and processed by SLS. Green parts with good structural integrity were produced using a wide range of processing conditions, allowing both monolayer and multilayer components to be constructed. Following SLS the parts were post-processed to remove the binder and to crystallize fully the material, evolving the apatite and mullite phases. The parts were heated to 1200 degrees C using a number of different time-temperature profiles, following which the processed material was analysed by differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy, and tested for flexural strength. An increase in strength was achieved by infiltrating the brown parts with a resorbable phosphate glass, although this altered the crystal phases present in the material.