Non-stirred synthesis of Na- and Mg-doped, carbonated apatitic calcium phosphate

Hydroxyapatite-like (apatitic) calcium phosphate (Ap-CaP) powders are usually synthesized in stirred solutions containing the highly soluble salts of calcium, such as calcium nitrate, calcium acetate and calcium chloride as the Ca-source. The current study tested the ideas of simultaneously using (i) precipitated calcite (CaCO3) powders as the Ca-source and (ii) non-stirred, static solutions for synthesizing carbonated, Na+- and Mg2+-doped apatitic calcium phosphate (Ap-CaP) powders. 0.5 M phosphate buffer (non-saline) solutions were used as the sole phosphate source. The synthesized Ap-CaP powders were found to consist of micron-size carnation-like crystalline particles. Samples were characterized by FE-SEM, XRD, FTIR, ICP-AES, dynamic light scattering (DLS), carbon percentage and BET surface area analyses.