Synthesis of hydroxyapatite from mussel shells for effective adsorption of aqueous Cd(II).

We report the synthesis of hydroxyapatite (HAP) powder from waste mussel shells (decomposed to CaO) and phosphoric acid at room temperature without pH control. The powder synthesized was utilized for cadmium removal from aqueous solutions using the batch technique. The effects of solution pH, adsorbent dose; initial Cd2+ concentration, contact time, and temperatures were examined. Furthermore, the adsorption process revealed a pseudo-second-order reaction model and the Langmuir isotherm is the best-fit model to predict the experimental data and adsorption capacity was found to be 62.5 mg/g. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that because of the negative values of ΔGo and the positive value of ΔHo, the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. Cadmium immobilization occurs through a two step mechanism: rapid ion exchange followed by partial dissolution of hydroxapatite and precipitation of cadmium containing hydroxyapatite.

Biocompatibility of sol-gel hydroxyapatite-titania composite and bilayer coatings.

Titania-Hydroxyapatite (TiO2/HAP) reinforced coatings are proposed to enhance the bioactivity and corrosion resistance of 316L stainless steel (316L SS). Herein, spin- and dip-coating sol-gel processes were investigated to construct two kinds of coatings: TiO2/HAP composite and TiO2/HAP bilayer. Physicochemical characterization highlighted the bioactivity response of the TiO2/HAP composite once incubated in physiological conditions for 7days whereas the TiO2/HAP bilayer showed instability and dissolution. Biological analysis revealed a failure in human stem cells adhesion on TiO2/HAP bilayer whereas on TiO2/HAP composite the presence of polygonal shaped cells, possessing good behaviour attested a good biocompatibility of the composite coating. Finally, TiO2/HAP composite with hardness up to 0.6GPa and elastic modulus up to 18GPa, showed an increased corrosion resistance of 316L SS. In conclusion, the user-friendly sol-gel processes led to bioactive TiO2/HAP composite buildup suitable for biomedical applications.