Open AccessIn situ high‐energy X‐ray diffraction study of a bioactive calcium silicate foam immersed in simulated body fluid
Author(s) -
FitzGerald V.,
Drake K. O.,
Jones J. R.,
Smith M. E.,
Honkimäki V.,
Buslaps T.,
Kretzschmer M.,
Newport R. J.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of synchrotron radiation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.172
H-Index - 99
ISSN - 1600-5775
DOI - 10.1107/s0909049507042173
Subject(s) - dissolution , diffraction , simulated body fluid , materials science , collimated light , synchrotron , synchrotron radiation , silicate , calcium , x ray crystallography , chemical engineering , in situ , composite material , mineralogy , chemistry , optics , scanning electron microscope , physics , laser , engineering , metallurgy , organic chemistry
The method of in situ time‐resolved high‐energy X‐ray diffraction, using the intrinsically highly collimated X‐ray beam generated by the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, is demonstrated. A specially designed cell, which allows the addition of liquid components, has been used to study the reaction mechanisms of a foamed bioactive calcia–silica sol–gel glass immersed in simulated body fluid. Analysis of the X‐ray diffraction data from this experiment provides atomic distances, via the pair correlation functions, at different stages of the dissolution of the glass and of the associated calcium phosphate, and ultimately hydroxyapatite, i.e. bone mineral, formation. Hence, changes in the atomic scale structure can be analysed as a function of reaction time, giving an insight into the evolution of the structure of both the glass matrix and the hydroxyapatite surface growth.