Synthesis and Characterisation of Pure Nanoporous Hydroxyapatite

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a desirable implant material due to its biocompatibility and osteoconductive properties. In this paper, we report a simple and economical approach to produce pure nanoporous HA using a hydroxyapatite-chitosan (HA-CS) template. The removal of chitosan through calcination leads to HA containing nanosize pores. Surface morphology analysis performed on both uncalcined and calcined HA-CS revealed disordered but interconnected pores. The removal of chitosan also resulted in a more even distribution of HA nanoparticles and a higher surface area. Both X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analyses confirmed that the obtained material consisted of primarily highly crystalline noncarbonated hydroxyapatite.