Effect of temperature and immersion on the setting of some calcium phosphate cements

Calcium phosphate cements based on powders containing \alpha-Ca-3(PO4)(2) a nd aqueous solutions containing Na2HPO4 as accelerator were used to determi ne the effects of accelerator concentration, temperature and immersion on t he setting time. Increases in accelerator concentration and temperature inc reased the rate of setting, but immersion had a retarding effect. These res ults were used to design a method whereby a syringe filled with cement past e can be kept ready for injection of the paste into the implantation site f or a long time, whereas setting of the cement paste in the body takes place in a short time. (C) 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers.