Microstructure and Cell Adhesion of Hydroxyapatite/Collagen Composites

This paper reports the development of a simple and cost effective method to fabricate hydroxyapatite/collagen nanocomposites. Hydroxyapatite is obtained by simultaneous dropping of calcium containing solution and phosphate containing solution into a reaction vessel. The microstructure of the hydroxyapatite particles exhibits a plate-like morphology under certain pH and temperature conditions. The plate-like morphology has a positive effect on the flexural strength of the composites prepared from precipitated hydroxyapatite and agarose gel. Cell adhesion tests on the precipitated hydroxyapatite and collagen indicate that the composite has excellent biocompatibility.