Examination of the physical, enzymatic, and hemolytic degradation of hydroxyapatite and bone cement

Abstract

This study evaluated the degradation capacity of hydroxyapatite (HA) and bone cement (BC), commonly used in dental and bone treatments, through physical, enzymatic, and hemolytic degradation tests. To determine their performance in the intended applications, this study sought to characterize the degradation of the products in different environments. Specifically, simulated body fluid (SBF) was used for the physical degradation, a lipase enzyme solution (EN) for the enzymatic degradation, and experimental blood-like environments for the hemolytic degradation. After a 4-week period of physical degradation, HA and BC exhibited degradation percentages of 1.15% and 9.86%, respectively. In the EN environment, the degradation percentages were 1.25% for HA and 10.61% for BC. In the assessment of hemolytic activity, it was found that HA had lower hemolytic activity than BC. The significant difference observed in these results indicates that HA did not show a significant degradation trend in all three environments. At the same time, BC exhibited degradation tendencies in both SBF and EN environments. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that HA demonstrates resistance to degradation due to its mineral presence. At the same time, polymer-based BC is relatively less resistant to degradation compared to HA.