Environmentally benign fabrication of calcium hydroxyapatite using seashells collected in Baltic Sea countries: A comparative study

ABSTRACTIn this study, high purity crystalline calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, CHAp) was fabricated from seashells collected in different regions of the Baltic Sea using an environmentally friendly water based sol-gel synthesis route. The phase composition of the synthesized CHAp powders was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The surface morphologies of the precursors and synthesized samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A single shell type, Macoma balthica (L.), was collected at various locations around the Baltic Sea. Nevertheless the resulting CHAp powders had surprisingly large variations in the surface morphology of sol-gel derived calcium hydroxyapatite bioceramics.