In situ synthesis of fluorapatite-ZnO nanocomposite powder via mechanical alloying for biomedical applications

Abstract

This research aimed to synthesize of fluorapatite(FA)–ZnO (FAZ) nanocomposite powder using a one-step mechanical alloying process without any post-calcification process. Furthermore, the role of various concentrations of ZnO (0, 4, 8, 11, and 15 wt.%) on the chemical and biological characteristics of FA was examined. Our research confirmed the successful synthesize of FAZ nanopowders with irregular-shaped particles and particle size of 38-52 nm. The crystallinity, crystallite size, and c-axes parameter of FA decreased with increasing ZnO content. Moreover, while all FAZ powders revealed superior bioactivity than FA, FA-8 wt.% ZnO nanopowder significantly enhanced MG63 cell proliferation. Besides, between various samples, FA-11 wt.% ZnO nanopowder revealed drastically greater antibacterial activity. It could be concluded that the in-situ synthesis of FAZ powder meaningfully improved the biological activity of FA making it a promising coating for orthopedic and dental implants.