Synthesis of Chicken’s Eggshells-Based β-Tricalcium Phosphate Bioceramics

The use of bioceramics for orthopedic and dental application nowadays increases due to their good biocompatibility and osteoconductivity. β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) bioceramics which have excellent biodegradation properties have been in use quite extensively. This paper reports the synthesis of β-TCP bioceramics from precipitation of calcined chicken’s eggshells and phosphoric acid (H3PO4). Chicken’s eggshells were calcined at 1000°C for 5 hours to form calcium oxide (CaO). Various molarities of CaO and H3PO4, between 0.4 M and 2.4 M, were used in this experiment with the Ca:P ratio was kept 1.5:1. After precipitation, the samples were filtered and heated at a sintering temperature of 1000°C for 7 hours. The X Ray Diffraction profile showed that the patterns were affected by the molarity. The patterns of 1.2 M CaO/0.8 M H3PO4 samples showed pure β-TCP, while those of 0.6 M CaO/0.4 M H3PO4 and 2.4 M CaO/1.6 M H3PO4 samples showed the presence of hydroxyapatite and octa calcium phosphate. These findings were also supported by Fourier transform infrared spectra. The purity of the samples shown by the atomic absorption spectroscopy resulted in Ca:P ratio of 1.48:1 which is very closed to that of standard β-TCP bioceramics.