At the moment, the field of biomedical materials science is actively developing, which aims at creating new functional materials. A developing direction in biomedical materials science is that towards the treatment of diseases associated with bone tissue disorders, using biodegradable composite materials based on polymer and calcium phosphate materials. We developed a material based on polyvinyl alcohol cryogel, mineralized with calcium phosphate. A material based on cryogel of polyvinyl alcohol mineralized with calcium phosphate was developed. The composites were obtained by the method of cyclic freezing–thawing, and the synthesis of calcium phosphates was carried out in situ with heating, stirring, and exposure to microwave radiation. The phase composition, as well as the composition of functional groups, was determined by IR spectroscopy and X-ray phase analysis. Monocytes isolated from human blood showed higher viability compared to the controls.

The primary purpose of the study, presented in this article, was to obtain a composite cement material intended for osteanagenesis. The β-tricalcium phosphate powder (β-TCP, β-Ca₃(PO₄)₂) was obtained by the liquid-phase method. Setting and hardening of the cement system were achieved by adding calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CSH, CaSO₄·1/2H₂O). An aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and a PVA/PVP mixture were used as a polymer component. The methods of capillary viscometry and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between polymer components, which determines the good miscibility of polymers. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FTIR methods, and the added amount of polymers does not significantly influence the processes of phase formation and crystallization of the system. The size of crystallites CSD remained in the range of 32–36 nm, regardless of the ratio of polymer components. The influence of the composition of composites on their solubility was investigated. In view of the lower solubility of pure β-TCP, as compared to calcium sulfate dihydrate (CSD, CaSO₄·2H₂O), the solubility of composite materials is determined to a greater degree by the CSD solubility. Complexometric titration showed that the interaction between PVA and PVP impeded the diffusion of calcium ions, and at a ratio of PVA to PVP of 1/1, the smallest exit of calcium ions from the system is observed. The cytotoxicity analysis results allowed us to establish the fact that the viability of human macrophages in the presence of the samples varied from 80% to 125% as compared to the control.

Undoped Ca3Co4O9 was synthesized using spray solution combustion synthesis (SSCS) and consolidated through spark plasma sintering (SPS), resulting in a microstructure with moderate texturing [maximum Lotgering factor of 0.35 for the (004) plane] and strongly elongated, densely packed grains oriented perpendicular to the pressing direction. The presence of texture mainly influences the electrical conductivity of the obtained material, which becomes comparable with values reported in the literature for doped Ca3Co4O9. These features allowed one to achieve in the undoped Ca3Co4O9 thermoelectric figure of merit zT of 0.35 at 1050 K, which determines the importance of microstructural architecture. The study highlights that although texturing contributes to increased electrical conductivity, the synergistic combination of grain elongation and boundary architecture is key to achieving significant improvements in the performance of layered materials, demonstrating the importance of optimizing microstructural characteristics to improve functionality. Cobaltite obtained by this route has advantages over the others, due to the significant reduction in ceramic production time, as well as low cost, without the need for expensive alloying elements.