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Hardystonite is currently recognized as a biocompatible bio-ceramic material for a range of medical applications. In this study, pure nanocrystalline hardystonite powder was prepared by mechanochemical synthesis of zinc oxide, silicate oxide, and egg shell in a planetary ball mill followed by sintering. It was found that pure nanocrystalline hardystonite powder formation occurred following 20 h of milling and subsequent sintering at 1000 ℃ for 3 h. Hardystonite scaffold was prepared by space holder method. The results showed that 3D porous scaffolds with pore sizes in the range of 200–300 μm, total and open porosity of 81 and 76%, respectively, with compressive strength and modulus of 0.35 and 10.49 MPa, were obtained. The average crystallite size of the prepared hardystonite powder and scaffold was measured to be 28 ± 3 and 79 ± 1 nm, respectively. The bioactivity of prepared scaffold was evaluated by simulated body fluid (SBF). Considering the results obtained, it seems that, manufactured scaffolds could be a good candidate for bone tissue engineering applications.

The aim of this study was to design and evaluate nano-hardystonite/polyamide 66 composites with close mechanical properties to the trabecular bone to prevent the stress shielding phenomenon for bone tissue engineering applications. This composite can be used as an intervertebral fusion cage to perform spinal fusion between vertebrae in the lumbar spine. The pure nano-hardystonite powder was fabricated by combustion method at 900 °C following by 5 h ball mill. The nano-hardystonite/Polyamide 66 and nano-hydroxyapatite/Polyamide 66 cage were prepared by injection molding method to compare the mechanical and biological properties. In this end, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized to characterize the prepared powder and cage samples. Based on the results, the addition of 30% nano-hardystonite improved both mechanical and bioactivity properties. The optimum hardystonite/PA66 samples revealed the compressive strength and elastic modulus of 69.19 ± 0.89 MPa and 2.56 ± 0.5 GPa, respectively, compared to 53.45 ± 1.2 MPa and 3.45 ± 0.3 GPa in hydroxyapatite/PA66 sample, respectively. In addition, observation of the superior apatite formation ability of hardystonite/PA66 compared to hydroxyapatite/PA66 indicated that it can be used as a spinal vertebrae replacement material.