Evaluation of sorption and solubility of materials based on calcium aluminate

Introduction In addition to good biological properties, biomaterials should also possess appropriate physical properties in order to provide stability and longevity at the place of application. The aim of this work was to evaluate physical properties of an experimental nanostructured material based on calcium aluminate (CAL) and calcium silicate (CS). Material and method The research used nanostructured calcium aluminate synthesized by the hydrothermal solgel method from the individual components of calcium aluminate (CaO·Al2 O3 ), calcite (CaCO3 ) and barium sulfate (BaSO4 ) as an X-ray contrast agent and calcium silicate (CS). The prepared material was placed in plastic molds with a diameter of 5 ± 0.1 mm and a height of 2 ± 0.1 mm. After setting time, the materials were left in an incubator at 37°C for 24 hours, and then they were removed from the mold and absorption and solubility of the materials was calculated. MTA (Angelus Londrina, Brazil) was used as a control material. Results The lowest material solubility was recorded with MTA (0.255 mg/mm3 ), followed by calcium silicate (0.267 mg/mm3 ), and the highest with calcium aluminate (0.725 mg/mm3 ). The difference was statistically significant between calcium aluminate and MTA (p = 0.001901) and between calcium aluminate and calcium silicate (p = 0.002550). After 28 days in deionized water, the lowest water sorption was recorded with MTA (0.347 mg/mm3 ), followed by calcium silicate (0.357 mg/mm3 ), and the highest water sorption was measured with calcium aluminate (0.474 mg/mm3 ). Statistically significant differences were observed between calcium aluminate and MTA (p = 0.000283) and between calcium aluminate and calcium silicate (p = 0.001576). Conclusion Material solubility and water absorption of calcium aluminate-based nanostructured material was significantly higher compared to calcium silicate (CS) and MTA.