Effect of strontium and iron on the structural integrity and drug delivery of Whitlockite

Localized drug delivery is a promising approach to treat bone infections. An ideal scaffold should provide a good regeneration environment and must be able to treat possible infections during healing. In this work, Strontium (Sr) and Iron (Fe) co-substituted whitlockite (WH) is prepared and comprehensively evaluated for the localized drug delivery application. Strontium and iron are added in varying ratios to study the effect of foreign metal concentration on crystallinity, phase purity, and drug delivery of WH. The prepared bioceramics were analyzed using x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning electron microscope (SEM/EDS). The XRD and FTIR analysis confirmed that the strontium and iron addition did not form secondary CaP phases. The in-vitro release study of the prepared samples showed a sustained release for 25 days in all samples. Results demonstrated in the present study confirm the potential of prepared bioceramics for drug delivery and biomedical applications.