A Review on Calcium Silicate Ceramics: Properties, Limitations, and Solutions for Their Use in Biomedical Applications

The bone, being an essential tissue in the human body, not only protects the organs inside the body but also provides mechanical support, haematopoiesis, mineral storage and mobility. Although bone may regenerate and heal itself, significant bone defects caused by severe trauma, tumour removal, malignancy, or congenital diseases can only be corrected via bone grafting. Bone biomaterials, also known as bone graft alternatives, have seen an increase in demand in recent years. Over 2 million procedures are performed in the United States each year to restore damaged/fractured bones by grafting. The number of patients in China with reduced limb function owing to bone abnormalities has risen to 10 million. Traditional bone defect repair materials include autogenous bone, allogeneic bone, xenogeneic bone, decalcified bone matrix, bioceramics, and metal materials, which are easily available and processed. Calcium silicate (Ca-Si) ceramic is among the most promising bioceramics for these purposes due to their amazing characteristics such as bioactivity, biocompatibility and osteoinductivity. Unfortunately, its high biodegradation rate along with its poor strength represents major limitations that limit its use in clinical applications significantly. In light of the above, this article briefly discussed the different types of bone substitute materials, the properties of Ca-Si ceramic, the advantages, limitations and potential solutions to overcome these drawbacks and its biomedical applications such as orthopedic, dental, wound healing and drug delivery.