Formation of serrated nanorods of hydroxyapatite through organic modification under hydrothermal processing

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) ceramics are widely used as artificial bone substitutes owing to its unique biological activity, that is, bone-bonding property. HAp nanoparticles have higher potential of biological functionality than microparticles owing to their increased specific surface area (SSA) because biological functionality of the crystals is governed by their surface characteristics. HAp particles of varied size and morphology have been prepared by employing various kinds of surfactants and capping ligands. In this research, we report the formation of HAp nanorods with serrated morphology which led to an increase in SSA. We obtained HAp nanorods with serrated morphology by adding thiosalicylic acid as a capping ligand under hydrothermal conditions. The tailoring of HAp nanorods by thiosalicylic acid under hydrothermal conditions is a useful method to prepare HAp nanorods with improved functionality.