Growth of calcium phosphate on phosphorylated chitin fibres.

Calcium phosphate growth on chitin phosphorylated fibres was studied using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM, EDX), micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and solid state magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) techniques. The C6 chemical shift positions of 13C MAS NMR in the chitin fibres phosphorylated using urea and H3PO4 are obvious indicating that phosphorylation takes place not in the C1 but in the C6 region. Micro-FTIR and 31P MAS NMR suggested that ammonium hydrogen phosphate formed during the phosphorylation procedure. Chitin fibres phosphorylated using urea and H3PO4 and then soaked in saturated Ca(OH)2 solution at ambient temperature, which lead to the formation of thin coatings formed by partial hydrolysis of the PO4 functionalities, were found to stimulate the growth of a calcium phosphate coating on their surfaces after soaking in 1.5xSBF solution for as little as one day. The thin layer after Ca(OH)2 treatment functioned as a nucleation layer for further calcium phosphate deposition after soaking in 1.5xSBF solution. EDX-measured Ca : P ratios of the coatings of Ca(OH)2-treated phosphorylated chitin in 1.5xSBF solution suggested that calcium-deficient apatite was formed.