Snail Shell Derived Natural Hydroxyapatite: Effects on NIH-3T3 Cells for Orthopedic Applications

Abstract

Hydroxyapatite [HAP] and tricalcium phosphate [ß-TCP] are a class of calcium phosphate related ceramic materials that are widely used in tissue regeneration and biomedical applications owing to their excellent bioactivity and biocompatibility. In this investigation, nanocrystalline pure HAP was prepared via sol-gel method by incorporating snail shell as calcium precursor with different phosphorus sources such as triethyl phosphate/phosphite (without using any additives like pH maintaining solutions or gelling agents). Nanocrystalline HAP and biphasic calcium phosphate (HAP + ß TCP) were prepared from triethyl phosphate and triethyl phosphite precursors, respectively. The prepared material was further characterized by powder XRD, IR, Raman spectroscopy, and thermo-gravimetrical analysis to confirm the phase purity, functional groups, and thermal stability. SEM coupled with EDAX was also used to examine the size, shape of particles, and elemental composition of Ca to P ratio in the material. Different phosphorus based HAP has shown rod and spherical shaped surface morphology which was further confirmed by TEM analysis. MTT assay was performed using NIH-3T3 fibroblast cell lines which indicated that the viability was not affected in various concentrations of pure nanocrystalline HAP (12.5-100 μg/ml). This study confirms the improved biocompatibility of biowaste converted HAP which would have implications in biomedical applications.