Quantitative phase analyses of biomedical pyrophosphate-bearing monetite and brushite cements by solid-state NMR and powder XRD

We present a comprehensive composition analysis of calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) incorporating increasing amounts of bioactive pyrophosphate species (up to 17 wt% P2O7). These cements comprise primarily poorly ordered monetite (CaHPO4) or brushite (CaHPO4 center dot 2H(2)O) and are investigated for enhanced osteoinductive bone/tooth implants. The specimens were characterized by magic-angle spinning (MAS) P-31 and H-1 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy along with powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). P-31 MAS NMR was employed to quantify the major monetite/brushite constituents, the crystalline and amorphous pyrophosphates, as well as various minor orthophosphate by-products. The NMR-derived contents of the crystalline phases accorded well with those from Rietveld analyses of the corresponding PXRD data. The amounts of crystalline and amorphous pyrophosphate depended on the precise cement precursor mixture and preparation conditions, which together with their distinct structural roles may enable the design of cements with a tunable P2O74 - release into aqueous solutions.