A simple route to prepare stable hydroxyapatite nanoparticles suspension

A simple ultrasound assisted precipitation method with addition of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) is proposed to prepare stable hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanoparticles suspension from the mixture of Ca(H₂PO₄)₂ solution and Ca(OH)₂ solution. The product was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TEM, HRTEM and particle size, and zeta potential analyzer. TEM observation shows that the suspension is composed of 10–20 nm × 20–50 nm short rod-like and 10–30 nm similar spherical HAP nanoparticles. The number-averaged particle size of stable suspension is about 30 nm between 11.6 and 110.5 nm and the zeta potential is −60.9 mV. The increase of stability of HAP nanoparticles suspension mainly depends on the electrostatic effect and steric effect of GAGs. The HAP nanoparticles can be easily transported into the cancer cells and exhibit good potential as gene or drug carrier system.