Defect structures of sodium and chloride co-substituted hydroxyapatite and its osseointegration capacity

A defect structure and osseointegration capacity of sodium and chloride co-substituted hydroxyapatite (NaClAp) were newly studied. The NaClAp was prepared by reacting H 3 PO 4 and Ca(OH) 2 with NaNO 3 and NH 4 Cl followed by sintering; pure hydroxyapatite (HAp) was synthesized as a control. After sintering, the co-substitution of Ca and OH with Na and Cl, respectively, produced charged point defects at Ca and PO 4 sites. Also, OH molecules partially adopted a head-on structure. The calculated total system energy of NaClAp was higher, whereas the binding energies between each constituent elements and system were lower than those of HAp. These results suggest that NaClAp was less stable than HAp, due to the formation of various defects by co-substitution of Na and Cl. Indeed, NaClAp exhibited higher dissolution behavior in simulated body fluid (SBF) compared with HAp. Accordingly, this increased the capability to produce low crystalline hydroxyl carbonate apatite, likely due to the increasing degree of apatite supersaturation in SBF. Besides, the NaClAp granules showed noticeable improvements in osseointegration capacity four weeks after in vivo test compared with HAp. Collectively, these results imply that the defects made by multiple ion substitutions are useful to increase osseointegration capacity of hydroxyapatite.