Gelatin stabilized iron oxide nanoparticles as a three dimensional template for the hydroxyapatite crystal nucleation and growth

Inspired by the structural similarity of gelatin (and collagen) linked to a mineral phase based on Ca-phosphates compounds with natural bone and increasing application of magnetic iron oxides in hyperthermia, gelatin coated iron oxide (GIO) was synthesized and hydroxyapatite (HAp) crystal nucleation and growth in the nanoparticles was explored. A series of GIO/HAp nanocomposites with various amount of GIO were synthesized by co-precipitation technique using calcium hydroxide and phosphoric acid as precursor. Various physico-chemical analysis showed that the HAp crystal nucleation and growth occurred at acidic group of gelatin, while magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (< 8nm) were bound to the amide groups of the gelatin chain. Moreover, the growth of HAp nanocrystals in aq. GIO solution was highly influenced by the GIO contents in the solution. The mineralized composite with magnetic properties could have great scope in biomedical field as a thermoseed to kill the cancerous cell in bone side by side for the bone reinforcement.