Investigation of in vitro biological studies on Fe doped hydroxyapatite - graphitic carbon nitride composite

Abstract

Hydroxyapatite is one of the important biomaterials due to its similarities with the mineral part of bone and the most studied material as a bone substituent. Recently, many researchers have focused on Hydroxyapatite- graphitic carbon nitride (HAP/GCN) composite which likely possess the characteristic properties of both HAP and GCN such as bioactivity, osteoconductivity, biocompatibility, fluorescent, electroluminescent and antibacterial properties. The present study aims to synthesize hydroxyapatite/graphitic carbon nitride (HAP/GCN) composites, dope it with varying concentrations of iron (Fe) and to evaluate their in vitro bioactivity. The hydroxyapatite/graphitic carbon nitride (HAP/GCN) and iron doped hydroxyapatite/graphitic carbon nitride (Fe-HAP/GCN) composites were synthesized by chemical precipitation method. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The in vitrobioactivity of the HAP/GCN and Fe-HAP/GCN composites was assessed by immersing them in simulated body fluid at 37 ± 1 °C for 21 days.The change in morphology after immersion in SBF, change in pH of the SBF solution as a function of time and gain in weight after immersion in SBF were used as parameters to evaluate the bioactivity. The findings of the study reveal that apatite formation is much higher for Fe-HAP/GCN composites when compared to HAP and HAP/GCN composite. The better bioactivity of Fe-HAP/GCN composite suggests its suitability for use in bone replacement and bone tissue engineering applications.