Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured Ceramic Powders of Calcium Phosphate and Hydroxyapatite for Dental Applications

In the last decades many investigations have been oriented toward the development of nanostructured biomaterials such as calcium phosphate ceramics, particularly those composed of stoicheiometric hydroxyapatite (Ca-10(PO4)(6)(OH)(2)) and alpha-and beta- tricalcium phosphate (Ca-3(PO4)(2)), which present chemical and crystallographic similarities with hard tissues (bones and teeth). Because of these characteristics, these materials can be used for reconstitution and regeneration of bone tissues. The odontological and biomedical applications are still limited due to their brittle behaviour. This study was focused in the synthesis and characterization of a bone matrix of calcium phosphate (beta-TCP) and hydroxyapatite (HAP-101 e HAp-201). The results presented here are related to the morphological characterization of nanostructured powders from scanning electron microscopy viewpoint. X-ray diffraction was used to identifier the present phases in the powders and the infrared spectrometry (FTIR) was used to analyse OH bonds from hydroxyapatite and PO4 from calcium phosphates.