Porous bioactive calcium carbonate implants processed by starch consolidation

Macroporous calcium carbonate (CaCO3) materials with porous structures suitable for implantation purposes were prepared in the present work. A new “direct consolidation” technique that uses starch granules as consolidator agent and as pore formers, combined with other larger organic inclusions, enabled us to tailor the porous microstructure for the intended application. Pore sizes as large as several hundreds of micrometers could be generated without matrix cracking, due to the high solid loading of the starting suspensions. croporous CaCO3 bodies fabricated exhibit an accentuated bioactivity even for short soaking time periods. The crystalline calcium phosphate phases precipitate preferentially in the pores, pore boundaries, or in other strained sites at the surface of the samples.