Leena Loomba and Bhupinder Singh Sekhon
Calcium Phosphate Nanoparticles and their Biomedical Potential
Nanodimensional and nanocrystalline calcium phosphates (in the form of apatites) of a biological origin are the basic inorganic building blocks of bones and teeth of mammals. The application and potential use of calcium phosphates for clinical repair of damaged bones and teeth to controlled drug delivery devices, multi-modal imaging, and bone regeneration is gaining importance. Calcium phosphate nanoparticles are rigid, biocompatible, biodegradable, bioactive, resorbable and non-immunogenic. Nanostructured calcium phosphates with various morphologies including spherical nanoparticles, plate-like nanocrystals, nano-needles, whiskers/ fibers/wires, mesoporous, nanotubes, nano-blades, and powders with three-dimensional structures have been synthesized by various methods including mechanochemical synthesis, reverse microemulsion, hydrothermal approach, co-precipitation, spraydrying technique, in-situ deposition technique, wet chemical precipitation, gas phase ablation and biomimetic coating. Nanostructured calcium phosphates are promising biomaterials for applications in biomedical areas, such as tissue engineering scaffolds, drug/gene delivery systems, vaccine adjuvants, contrast agents for imaging and multi-modal imaging, nanosystems for photodynamic therapy and antifungal/antibacterial agents.
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