Document Type : Research Article
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Abstract
Biomedical porous fluorapatite scaffolds were fabricated using an improved polymeric sponge replication method. The specific formulations and distinct processing techniques such as the mixture of water and dispersant (Sodium TriPolyPhosphate) as solvent, the multiple coatings with the desired viscosity of the Fap slurries were duplicated from Chaari et al. [11]. The heat treatment was conducted in two stages: a delicate stage of polymeric structure degradation at 290 0 C and then at 600 0 C followed by a sintering stage at 1000 0 C for three hours. The obtained porous Fap scaffolds had uniform porous structures with completely interconnected macropores of 850 μm. In addition, micropores of 4 μm were formed in the skeleton of the scaffold. Finally, the porous Fap scaffold with a porosity of 65 vol.% and a surface of 400 mm 2 had a compressive strength of 7 MPa.
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