Biomimetic hydroxyapatite powder from a bacterial cellulose scaffold

In a persistent search to find affordable biomaterial sources, calcium deficient hydroxyapatite (CdHA) precipitated onto bacterial cellulose (BC) composites are excellent candidates. CdHA is resorbable in vivo and biomimetic to HA found in native bone due to its calcium deficiency. The shape of the starting BC scaffold limits BC/CdHA composite applications. In order to make greater use of these composites, this study aimed to investigate the feasibility in generating a CdHA powder from the original composite. The CdHA powder could be utilized at bone injury sites as stand-alone bone filler or as filler in an injectable system. This study selected thermal and enzymatic methods to investigate the effectiveness of BC removal from the original composite matrix. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the nanoscale hydroxyapatite rosettes. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy was used to determine the calcium deficiency of hydroxyapatite. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to detect the presence of cellulose in the composites by mass. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to obtain chemical information of the degraded materials. Each degradation method successfully produced calcium deficient hydroxyapatite powders.