Hydroxyapatite/bacterial cellulose composites synthesized via a biomimetic route

In this work, biomimetic precipitation of hydroxyapatite (HA) from simulated body fluid (SBF) on bacterial cellulose (BC) was studied. BC was firstly chemically modified by soaking in 0.1 M CaCl2 solution at 37 degrees C prior to biomimetic mineralization. The resulting HA/BC composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and thin-film X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The results revealed that the HA minerals were homogeneously precipitated on the BC surface. Furthermore, the crystals were carbonate-containing apatites with low crystallite size and crystallinity. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.