Synthesis and characterization of porous shell-like nano hydroxyapatite using cetrimide as template.

Macromolecules of various surfactants and polymers are being used to prepare nano hydroxyapatites (HAp) of varied morphology. Here we report the successful preparation of shell-like nano HAp spheres with fine morphology, uniform size around 200 nm, and stoichiometry ratio 1.7 with 56% nano- (<5 nm) and 44% mesoporosity using the surfactant tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (Cetrimide), which was not reported earlier. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of Cetrimide was calculated as 3.88 mM at room temperature, and based on that, the other parameters of the experiment were determined. The experiment was conducted at ambient temperature and normal pressure without any temperature control, which was considered a crucial parameter in the earlier works. Thus, this method is suitable to bulk production of HAp. All the inspections confirm the successful preparation of shell-like nano HAp spheres that are suitable for biomedical applications. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.