UC San Diego

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is an essential biomedical material. HAp’s shaping is an important topic in the area of implantology and scaffolding. This project took a novel and unique approach in attempting to to control the morphology of materials without varying parameters such as pH levels, types of solvents, pressure and reaction time. Present work studied the feasibility of controlling the morphology of hydroxyapatite (HAp), with micrometer scale molding and casting. Emphasis was placed on HAp cylinders and cubes of micrometer size. First, cylindrically shaped cavities were patterned and etched with photolithography methods and reactive ion etching techniques on a Si substrate. Cavities were filled with slurry of deionized water, commercially purchased HAp powder, and Darvan 811 dispersant. Samples were successfully sintered at 1250°C. The obtained samples resembled the cylindrical cavities they were caste in. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the size and shape of sintered samples. This technique demonstrates great potential in forming large amounts of homogeneously shaped samples of HAp or similar ceramics for prospective biomedical applications