STUDY OF MATRIX EFFECTS WITH THE ALPHA-PARAMETER METHOD TO CORRECT PIXE DATA FOR BIOCERAMICS EMBEDDED IN RESIN

The PIXE method is very suitable for applications in the biological fi eld, We use it to study the kinetic resorption of bioceramics. The aim of this work is to compare the concentrations of mineral elements in bone to those in bioceramics, The samples are embedded in a polymethyl methacrylate resin and are considered as infinitely thick targets. The correction method is based on the experimental determination of an a parameter linking the two preponderent matrix effects: X-ray absorptio n and proton energy loss. This method allows corrections without makin g any hypothesis about the matrix composition. In this paper, we prese nt an experimental and a theoretical determination of the correction c oefficients to be applied, Thus we obtained quantitative measurements which allow us to understand better the mechanism of resorption occuri ng in calcium phosphate ceramics. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All r ights reserved.