Systematic fabrication of nano-carbonated hydroxyapatite/collagen composites for biomimetic bone grafts

A novel biomimetic self-assembly method was designed to create nano-carbonated hydroxyapatite/collagen (nCHAC) composites by means of incorporating various collagen and carbonate concentrations using solutions such as CaCl(2), H(3)PO(4), and Na(2)CO(3). At a given range of collagen and carbonate content, the nanosized inorganic phase of the newly synthesized material has a low degree of crystallinity which resembles that of natural bone. By manipulating the concentrations of collagen and carbonates, various morphologies of the nCHAC can be obtained. The crystal size of nCHAC is dependent on the concentration of carbonate and collagen present in the composites. For instance, higher collagen concentration results in smaller crystal nCHAC crystal size. Conversely, the higher the carbonate content, the smaller are the crystal size and the collagen fibril assembly. As the carbonate content increased, the plate-like crystals first became needle-like structures, subsequently short needle-like crystals and eventually became spherical particles. From this study, our method showcased the flexibility of fabricating various types of nCHAC composites which can be designed for different bone applications.