Synthesis and characterization boron-doped hydroxyapatite for bone tissue engineering applications

In this study, the effect of dopant ratio on structural and biological properties of B-doped hydroxyapatite (HA) sintered at 500 degrees C was investigated for the first time. For this purpose, 1, 2, 4 and 8 mol% B-doped HA groups were synthesized. Presence of PO43- and BO33- groups were verified with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that increasing the B ratio led to a decreasing trend for HA phase percentage, crystallinity, and crystallite size. Similarly, Ca/(P + B) ratio decreased with increasing dopant ratio. B was incorporated into the HA structure with around 50 % yield. Moreover, mean particle size significantly decreased by B-doping for all groups. Concordantly, BET analysis revealed that the surface area of the groups increased with increasing B ratio. Overall, doping of HA with 4 mol% B was shown to provide both proliferative and osteogenic effects on human adipose derived stem cells (hADSCs). Our findings suggest that Bdoped HA sintered at 500 degrees C holds promise for bone tissue engineering applications.