Fabrication and Characterization of Hydroxyapatite from Bio-resources.
The restricted accessibility of bone material to fill the defects and promote bone growth remains a difficult problem in many medical procedures such as orthopaedic and trauma surgery as it leads to problems related to the healing of segmental bone defects. In the previous few decades, tissue engine
2025-06-28 16:32:30 - Adil Khan
Fabrication and Characterization of Hydroxyapatite from Bio-resources.
Project Area of Specialization Wearables and ImplantableProject SummaryThe restricted accessibility of bone material to fill the defects and promote bone growth remains a difficult problem in many medical procedures such as orthopaedic and trauma surgery as it leads to problems related to the healing of segmental bone defects. In the previous few decades, tissue engineering has given the most crucial solutions to the bone and dental related problems. By utilizing a combination of biomaterial and cells to advance bone recovery, the strategy has resulted in an effective and harmless option in contrast to autographs and allografts. Hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) is a compound with hexagonal structure and white solids that has bioactive, biocompatible and osteo-conductive properties similar to that of the bone and teeth. It is widely used as coatings on bone, fillers, dental implants, catalysts and adsorbents in the shape of granules, blocks, and scaffold alone or as a composite with polymers for other ceramics. 70% of the human bone is composed of hydroxyapatite alongside 5% of water and 25% of organic matter. The excellent properties of the compound and the ease of fabrication makes it a suitable implant material. Hydroxyapatite is derived synthetically using calcium based chemicals or naturally occurring materials and bio-inorganic materials which seem to be the industrial solution for raw materials. Due to a high demand for production, the synthetically derived HAP or naturally mined material produces chemical waste and traces which induce adverse effects into the environment. To reduce that problem, we are synthesizing hydroxyapatite from natural bio-wastes, eggshells and crustacean shells which will be our source of calcium. This innovation would provide a low cost, an eco-friendly and sustainable method of HAP synthesis.
Project Objectives1) Producing HAP (Hydroxyapatite) samples using bio resources: egg shells and crustacean shells acquired as a bio waste from natural waste hence recycling a natural resource rich in Calcium.
2) The samples will be characterized after preparation to see the effectiveness of each sample and evaluating the degree of efficiency.
3) The entire process will be a sustainable process, including cost efficient sourcing of bio resources and mainly utilizing as little as possible to provide economic advantage.
Project Implementation MethodFor the synthesis of nano-crystalline HAp we have used the precipitation technique. The materials used in this process are chicken eggshells, phosphoric acid and distilled water. Chicken eggshells (collected from the grocery shop, about 160 grams) were washed with tap water several times and cleaned using distilled water. The egg shells were then dried under sunlight. After drying, the eggshells were crushed into as smaller pieces as possible using a pestle and mortar. The eggshells containing CaCO3 were calcined at 900? for 2 hours at the rate of 20?/min in the muffle furnace. On heating, CaCO3 yielded CaO and CO2. After annealing at 900?, most of the organic material was burnt out and this was indicated by the change in colour of eggshells from white to black and to white again. The sample was again powdered using in a pestle and mortar. After that, the obtained CaO was mixed (~ at 100?) with distilled water and then the mixture was left to cool completely to form Calcium Hydroxide Ca(OH)2. The heat was released during the reaction. The obtained Calcium Hydroxide Ca(OH)2 slurry was titrated with a solution of Phosphoric acid H3PO4 (0.6M) at room temperature for the production of Hydroxyapatite. The pH of the mixture was controlled using pH meter (BANTE PHS-38W series) until the pH reached in the range of 7-9. Lastly, to perform various kinds of analysis HAP sample was dried out in a heating oven at 300? temperature for the sintering time of 1 hour.
The synthesis of HAP from crustacean shells will require crustacean shells from shrimps, phosphoric acid, ammonia solution and distilled water. The material will be synthesized using wet chemical reaction method. The shells will first be cleaned and de-proteinized. Then, they will be heated at about 900°C to produce soft amorphous calcium oxide. The shells will be powdered using mortar and pestle. The powdered amorphous shells (CaO) would be used to prepare 1.0 M solution of calcium hydroxide by adding phosphoric acid (0.6M) drop wise at the rate of 1 ml/min with continuous stirring using a magnetic stirrer at room temperature. This process of continuous stirring to complete the chemical reaction would result in a gelatinous precipitate. Ammonia solution will be added drop wise to maintain the pH at 10 to avoid the formation of calcium deficient apatite. After the formation of the gelatinous precipitate, filtration of the solution will be done to obtain the precipitates. The precipitate will be dried in an electric furnace at 80°C for 8 hours for the removal of water particles completely. Finally, the dried sample will be powdered and characterized. The characterization of the samples will consist of the following steps:
- FTIR Spectroscopy - to study the presence of carbonate and other functional groups
- XRD Analysis - to study the phase and crystalline structure
- TGA Analysis - to study the thermal stability
- DSC Analysis - to study the physical properties with temperature against time.
Hydroxyapatite can be synthesized by two means, by using chemicals or by using natural resources. The HAP produced synthetically from calcium based chemicals such as Ca(NO3)2, Ca(OH)2, CaCO3 is mass produced, expensive and causes other adverse effects on the environment due to the emission of CO2 and other greenhouse gases during the process. Another drawback is that we are living in a developing country and we have to import Synthetic Chemical HAP paying hefty amounts and taxes. Therefore, there's a need for low-cost and biocompatible HAP from biological resources. To counter that, in this study, HAP will be produced locally from bio resources such as eggshells and crustacean shells which are readily available as bio-wastes in the environment. The utilization of waste materials is not only important to reduce the accumulation of waste materials in the environment, but it is also necessary because the common crude material is being depleted due to excessive use. As our bio-resources are calcium based, if left into the environment they can be harmful to the eco-system. Calcium based waste can be harmful to the aquatic life as it can cause hardness in water and burning of the waste can also produce toxic fumes into the environment. Processing shells into HAP would be substantial as it would reduce the generation of bio-waste which is present in abundance in our environment. Moreover, employment opportunities would increase when the process is taken onwards to the industrial level. HAP production being cost effective, as it uses natural biological resources will provide an opportunity for exporting cheap but high quality HAP leading to earnings in the form of foreign exchange which will be beneficial to the economy of our country Pakistan. This would lead to the elimination of the cost for importing HAP which is used in many biomedical and dental procedures. Hence, our project would provide a low-cost and efficient solution to the growing need of biomaterials for various biomedical related problems.
Technical Details of Final DeliverableThis project demonstrates the fabrication of Hydroxyapatite using bio-resources. Furthermore, the fabricated materials will be tested and characterized by different techniques such as FTIR analysis, XRD Analysis, TGA analysis and DSC analysis to identify the material’s structure and properties. These techniques will assist in establishing the material’s biocompatibility and achieving clinical viability. The final materials will be considered to be biocompatible, eco-friendly, self-sustainable and cost-efficient as the utilization of bio-waste will result in the reduction of waste from the environment and will provide cheaper alternatives for obtaining biomaterials for various orthopaedic and dental problems such as material for bone implant and prostheses, coating of metalling implants, bone grafts, scaffolds for tissue reconstitution and dental enamel restoration and repair.
Final Deliverable of the Project Hardware SystemCore Industry HealthOther Industries Medical Core Technology Wearables and ImplantablesOther TechnologiesSustainable Development Goals Good Health and Well-Being for People, Responsible Consumption and ProductionRequired Resources| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 72000 | |||
| Phosphoric Acid | Equipment | 1 | 15000 | 15000 |
| Ammonia Solution | Equipment | 1 | 8000 | 8000 |
| Magnetic Stirrer | Equipment | 1 | 22000 | 22000 |
| pH Meter | Equipment | 1 | 20000 | 20000 |
| TGA | Equipment | 1 | 5000 | 5000 |
| Printing | Miscellaneous | 1 | 2000 | 2000 |