Effect of carbon fiber on calcium phosphate bone cement

The calcium phosphate cement (α-TCP/TTCP) was reinforced with oxidation-treated carbon fibers. The effect of aspect ratio and content of carbon fiber on the compression strength and bending strength of the hardened body was discussed. The results show that the reinforcing effect is optimal as the aspect ratio is 375 and the additive amount is 0.3% (mass fraction). Under this condition, the compressive strength is increased by 55% (maximum 63.46 MPa), and the bending strength is nearly increased by 100% (maximum 11.95 MPa), respectively. However, if the additive quantity and aspect ratio are too high, the effect of the carbon fibers is limited because it can not be dispersed uniformly in the hardened body. The biological evaluation indicates that the calcium phosphate cement reinforced by carbon fibers has good biocompatibility.