Influence of Microwave Irradiation Time and Cross-Linker Additions on Synthesis of Hydroxyapatite-Alginate (HA-Alginate) Composite

Abstract

Abstract Composite was prepared with hydroxyapatite and commercial alginate by microwave irradiation method. Hydroxyapatite is a calcium phosphate compound which has a similar chemical composition of human bone tissue. In this study, hydroxyapatite-alginate (HA-Alginate) composite with the mass ratio of 80:20 (HA-Alginate) was synthesized using microwave irradiation for 10 min and 15 min. The power source was settled at 360 W. The functional groups of the composites were examined by FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy). The crystallite size and phase purity of HA were determined by XRD (X-Ray Diffraction). The FTIR and XRD results confirmed the existence of alginate and HA in the composites. The crystallite size of the HA increased with the increasing microwave irradiation time. This study also investigated the presence of CaCl2 as cross-linker agent at difference concentration (0.01 M; 0.03M; and 0.05M). The results showed the crystallite size of the HA increased by adding cross-linker from 10.806 nm (without cross-linker) to 13.081 nm (with CaCl2 0.05M) and a composite mass increased from 4.84 gram (without cross-linker) to 5.10 gram (with addition 0.05 M CaCl2).