Progress of Calcium Sulfate and Inorganic Composites for Bone Defect Repair

Treatments of bone defects caused by trauma,tumor and arthroplasty are challenging research area which has aroused great interests among biomaterial researchers to design and fabricate ideal artificial implants.Calcium sulfate has been used as biomedical bone cement for over a century,but its too fast bioresorption limits the applications in some clinical conditions.In this paper,its physicochemical properties,crystal polymorph and synthetic techniques are summarized.Furthermore,the recent research progress on calcium sulfate-based inorganic composite with hydroxyapatite,bioactive glasses,calcium phosphate cements and calcium silicate cements are reviewed.In addition,the development perspective on overcoming the shortcomings of calcium sulfate-base biomaterials is also discussed.