Microwave Dielectric Analysis on Porous Hydroxyapatite/Starch Composites with Various Ratio of Hydroxyapatite to Starch

This study aims to investigate the dielectric response of the porous hydroxyapatite/starch composites by varying the starch proportion in determining the feasibility of the microwave sample characterization technique in bone tissue engineering. The porous hydroxyapatite/starch composites were fabricated by using natural starch (gelatinization and retrogradation) through the solvent casting and particulate leaching technique. The dielectric constant (e') and loss factor (e'') of the complex permittivity of the porous hydroxyapatite/starch composites were measured in the Ku band frequency of 12.4-18.0 GHz. e' and e'' of the porous composites increase with frequency. The highly porous composite that due to higher starch proportion exhibit higher e' and e'', resulting in the significant dielectric responses.