In this article, we report the development of a biodegradable monetite [dicalcium phosphate anhydrous (DCPA), CaHPO4 ]/phosphorylated chitosan (p-chitosan) composite orthopedic cement. The cement pastes showed desirable handling properties, injectability, and washout resistance. The incorporation of p-chitosan powders at 5 wt % shortened the setting time of DCPA and significantly improved the mechanical performance of DCPA cement, increasing the compressive strength almost twice from 11.09 ± 1.85 MPa at 0% chitosan to 23.43 ± 1.47 MPa at 5 wt % p-chitosan. On the other hand, higher p-chitosan content or untreated chitosan incorporation lowered the performance of DCPA cements. The cytocompatibility of the composite cement was investigated in vitro using the preosteoblast cell line MC3T3-E1. An increase in cell proliferation was observed in both DCPA and DCPA-p-chitosan. The results show that both the materials are as cytocompatible as hydroxyapatite. Based on these results, DCPA-p-chitosan composite cement can be considered as potential bone repair material.
Keywords: bone cement; chitosan; composite; monetite.
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