Mechanical processing of hydroxyapatite through sintering and multi-objective optimization technique for biomedical application

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) has been widely applied in the area of tissue engineering, however, its poor mechanical properties limit it in load bearing biomedical application. To improve the mechanical integrity of HAp, this study reports the synthesis, optimization and the significance of processing parameters on the physic-mechanical properties of HAp. The HAp was produced from biogenic source through at 900 degrees C. The L9 Taguchi orthogonal array was employed, considering two processing parameters namely, HAp particle size (100, 300, and 600 mu m) and compaction load (3, 6, and 9 KN). The raw bones (RB) and the synthesized HAp were characterized for phase structure and functional groups analysis. The analysis showed the characteristics of a typical calcium phosphate material. The multiple response optimization revealed that 600 mu m particle size 6 KN compaction load are the optimal processing parameters in the manufacturing of high biomedical performance HAp.