Synthesis and characterization of hydroxyapatite from chicken eggshells – A novel bioceramics

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is bioactive substance that is nearly identical to a mineral component of the bone and teeth. HAp has been employed as a bone substitute material in orthopedic applications because of the remarkable properties such as non-toxic, non-inflammatory, bioactivity, biocompatibility, and the ability to develop a direct chemical bonding with human hard tissues. In recent years, natural biogenic resources are available in vast amounts in the environment and that could be used to develop natural biomaterial which has been motivated by the researchers to solve the limitation obtained from the synthetic material. The bio-waste materials are creating the environmental pollution caused by emission of CO₂, promote the bacterial growth during degradation. In order to reduce the pollution in the environment, the waste materials can be converted into valuable biomaterials. The present study focuses on the synthesis of HAp from chicken eggshells using simple precipitation method, CaO was used as a precursor material obtained from the calcination of raw eggshell at 900 ° C. The synthesized HAp has been analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscope with Energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and Antibacterial Activity. The FT-IR spectrum reveals that the phase transformation occurs at 700° C. The FT-IR spectrum confirms the formation of HAp by the existence of functional groups OH⁻, PO₄^3- and HPO₄^2-. X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the particle size and purity of the sample. The surface analysis and elemental composition of the synthesized HAP have been confirmed by SEM and EDAX method. The rod-like hexagonal structure is seen by SEM analysis. The obtained results confirm that the synthesized HAp possesses excellent biocompatible and antibacterial properties and it would be used as a potential candidate for biomedical applications.