Synthesis of nano-scale hydroxyapatite whiskers for biomedical applications

II-2: Synthesis of nano-scale hydroxyapatite whiskers for biomedical applications

Z.L. Dong (zldong@ntu.edu.sg) School of Materials Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Abstract

This project is focused on the low temperature hydrothermal synthesis of nano-scaled calcium hydroxyapatite whiskers, and their structure characterisation. Hydroxyapatite is a good candidate for hard tissue replacement because it is the main mineral constituent of bone and teeth, and its biocompatibility with bony tissues has been proven to be superior to any other artificial materials. In this work, two types of materials were synthesised, which were hydroxyapatite, and hydroxyapatite/tricalcium phosphate composite. The latter was obtained through conventional chemical reaction and heat treatment process, whereas the former was synthesised through low temperature hydrothermal reaction. Transmission electron microscopy results showed that the hydroxyapatite crystals were nano-sized whiskers with the length direction along c-axis of the hexagonal structure. It is believed that the hydroxyapatite whiskers can be used as strengthening and bioactive components in composite bio-materials.