A new article published in Nanomaterials discussed that amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) has significant effects on the biomineralization and has promising applications in bio-medicine. However, the limited stability and porosity of ACP material restrict its practical applications.

Here, the authors reported on the development of a storage stable highly porous ACP with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area of over 400 m2/g, by introducing phosphoric acid to a methanol suspension containing amorphous calcium carbonate nanoparticles. Electron microscopy disclosed that the porous ACP was constructed with aggregated ACP nanoparticles with dimensions of several nanometers. Large angle X-ray scattering detected a short-range atomic order of <20 Å in the ACP nanoparticles.

The synthesized ACP demonstrated long-term stability and did not crystallize even after storage for over 14 months in air, while its stability could be tuned by adjusting its chemical composition. Additionally, the ACP synthesized was cytocompatible and acted as drug carriers for the bisphosphonate drug alendronate (AL), in vitro. It was demonstrated that AL-loaded ACP released ~25% of the loaded AL in the first 22 days.

These properties make ACP a promising candidate material for potential application in biomedical fields such as drug delivery and bone healing.

Source: Nanomaterials. 2019 Dec 19;10(1). pii: E20. doi: 10.3390/nano10010020.