Characterization of granular calcium sulfate dihydrate-gelatin composite for bone void filler

Calcium sulfate dihydrate (CSD) cement has been used as bone filler for decades. It is also used as antibiotics carrier to treat osteomyelitis. However, CSD cement itself when applied at bone defect has some limitation such as its brittleness. The brittleness limits its handling property. Thus, the aim of this study is to fabricate granular CSD cement-gelatin (CSD-Gel) that has good handling property to be used as bone void filler. To prepare CSD-Gel composite, granular CSD was prepared from calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CaSO4.0.5H2O; CSH) and distilled water with water/powder (W/P) ratio of 0.5. The CSD cement was crushed and sieved into 300-500 µm. The obtained granular CSD was then mixed with 3 wt.% and 7 wt.% gelatin solution, followed by freeze drying for 48 hours. The CSD granules were surrounded by gelatin matrix in all specimens. It was observed that more gelatin matrix found in the space between the granules in in the composite with 7 wt% gelatin compared with that in 3 wt% gelatin. Mechanical evaluation revealed that CSD-Gel 7% has significant higher compressive strength compared to CSD-Gel 3%.