Synthesis, Consolidation and In-Vitro Characterization of Zinc and Potassium Co-Substituted Hydroxyapatite Nano Powders for Bioapplications

In the present work, the zinc and potassium co-substituted hydroxyapatite powders were successfully prepared by solution combustion synthesis method to study their bioactivity. The existence of functional groups such as phosphate and hydroxyl groups were revealed by FTIR spectroscopy and absorbance at 880 cm−1 confirms the co-substitutions in the synthesized powder. XRD patterns with the peak broadening near 32◦ showed the presence of HCP phase (hydroxyapatite) with substitutions and nanocrystalline nature. SEM images revealed that the diameter of the synthesized nanorodswas from 10-25 nm with the length of about 100-400 nm. TEM images also confirmed the partial crystalline nature of the synthesized powders. EDS elemental analysis also confirmed the presence of Zn and K in the substitutions along with an average Ca/P ratio 1.7. Porous scaffolds were prepared by gelcasting method. SEM images of consolidated samples showed the presence of nanopores and the in-vitro studies confirmed the bioactivity in simulated body fluid without any cytotoxicity. Thus, the above results confirmed that the synthesized powders have similar characteristics like human bone and suggested for using it as a material for preparing porous scaffolds for bone, dental repairs, and replacements.