Electrovector ceramics for biomedical use: Manipulation of bone-like crystal growth in SBF

Stored charges of electrically polarized hydroxyapatite (HA) ceramics were found to enhance the solidification, which is actually the bone-like crystal growth on HA surfaces, from a simulated body fluid (SBF). The enhancement was observed on the negatively charged surface, while the crystal growth was decelerated on the positively charged surface. These effects of surface charges were named as electrovectorial effects and a material which has the effect as an electrovector material. In this paper, the definitions of electrovectorial effect and electrovector material is firstly introduced, then the effectiveness is demonstrated in the solilidification phenomena in a SBF, which are considered to be so-called in vitro bioactivity.