Hydroxyapatite Derived from Biogenic Sources for Biomedical and Environmental Applications

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Hydroxyapatite (HAp), one of the calcium phosphate minerals, has been widely used for biomedical applications because of its similarity to bone mineral content. Synthetic nano HAp, despite being made from chemical precursors, differs in composition from that of natural hard tissues such as bone and teeth. The properties of synthetic HAp solely depend on the precursors and production processes employed. Biogenic calcium resources such as fish scales, bones of animals and fish, and shells from land, freshwater, and marine origin can be used to synthesise HAp, which has trace elements that mimic the constituents of bone. Also, we have emphasised that HAp can be synthesised economically from one of the abundantly available low-cost biowastes, namely eggshells. There are numerous biomedical uses like bone substitute material, scaffold for bone tissue engineering, drug delivery agent, etc., and environmental uses, notably as an adsorbent for heavy metal removal, dye degradation, etc. This chapter will help readers understand the significance of natural resources and methods for producing HAp from biogenic sources.