Hydrothermal synthesis and characterisation of glutamine-modified rod-like hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

In this study, an amino acid, glutamine, has been employed as the modifier in the hydrothermal synthesis of rod-like hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoparticles. X-ray diffractometer results confirm the formation of a typical HAp phase without impurities and microscopic results indicate that the morphology and size of the as-prepared products could be controlled by adjusting the pH value of the hydrothermal system. Owing to a variety of amino acids and characteristics of as-synthesised nano-sized HAp, the findings may have implications in the large-scale controllable synthesis of well-defined HAp nanomaterials; it may also provide a general facile and low-cost method for the preparation of uniform nanostructured HAp by utilising biomolecules as modifiers.