Taking the inspiration from natural bone, where collagen provides sites for the nucleation and growth of carbonated hydroxyapatite, we have developed self-assembling calcium phosphate-block copolymer nanocomposites by using a bottom-up approach. In this regard, self-assembling thermo-reversibly gelling block copolymers based on the nonionic, zwitterionic, anionic, block copolymers conjugated to hydroxyapatite-nucleating peptides, and polylysine-polyleucine diblock copoly-peptides were employed as templates for the precipitation of nano-sized calcium phosphates from aqueous solutions. Calcium phosphate nanocrystals were formed at the polymer-inorganic interface presumably nucleated by the ionic interactions. Solid-state NMR, XRD, TEM, TGA, FTIR and X-ray scattering techniques were used to characterize the nanocomposites. NMR and scattering measurements of polymer-inorganic gel composites proved nanocomposite formation and templating by the polymer micelles. The inorganic fraction of the nanocomposites was found to vary between 30-55 wt%. TEM studies showed that the morphology and the size of the hydroxyapatite crystals in the nanocomposites were similar to the apatite in the bone. The findings in our studies provide information for developing guidelines for design of novel HAp-polymer nanocomposites and for the understanding of the mechanism of biomineralization. Moreover, this study may also offer routes for bioinspired bottom-up approaches for the development of a number of nanostructured composites including injectable nanocomposite biomaterials for potential orthopedic applications.

As a part of the present study, the carbonate incorporation into the hydroxyapatite lattice under various pH conditions was also investigated. Crystalline sodium and carbonate containing calcium hydroxyapatite (NaCO₃HAp) powders were prepared using an oxidative decomposition of calcium-EDTA chelates in the sodium phosphate solution with hydrogen peroxide. Depending on pH, spherical particles with approximately 3.5 ym in diameter or hexagonal prismatic particles measuring 3 to 9 ym long were obtained. The precipitated particles were a single-phase NaCO₃HAp. The carbonate content and the lattice parameters of the hydroxyapatite were a function of solution pH. Maximum carbonate incorporated into the HAp lattice was at pH=10. Formation of HAp on PMMA polymer films was also studied by using the same chelate decomposition method. Evolution of HAp coating as a function of experimental variables including time was examined.