Synthesis of Fibrous Hydroxyapatite through Sol-Gel Route
"Bioceramic
hydroxyapatite
sol-gel
biocompatibility
agar"
The sol-gel route using an agar gel with calcium nitrate and phosphate solution as starting materials for producing hydroxyapatite (HAP). The product formed were needle like, zigzag and straight fibres. The fibrous products on sintering transformed into stoichiometric HAP with a biological Ca/P ratio of 1.67. The influences of pH, temperature, nature of base and phosphate solution on the growth of fibrous HAP were studied. The pH of the solution was found to greatly influence the growth rate and morphology of the resultant product. The optimum gel temperature was found to be 60oC and sintering temperature of 900oC for 1 hour. The crystalline, thermal, functional and morphological characteristics of the fibrous HAP were investigated.
