Natural hydroxyapatite (HAp) is known for its common use in biomedical applications including in orthopaedic and implantation. HAp can be extracted from natural resources such as eggshells, fish bones and coral. Annually, it is found that huge amount of tuna fish bones were thrown away and being wasted as results from great consumption of tuna fish. In this study, tuna fish bones were extracted and characterised to be used in biomedical applications. Specifically, tuna fish bones were cleaned, and calcined at high temperature of 700 °C, 900 °C and 1100 °C. Powders calcined at 700 °C showed pure HAp compared to powders calcined at 900 °C and 1100 °C which showed the presence of β-TCP. As temperature rising, the morphology of the powders also changes from spherical-shaped to irregular-shaped indicated the substitution of phosphate and calcium from the β-TCP which also influenced the ratio of Ca/P obtained. In this study, powders calcined at 700 °C obtained optimum Ca/P ratio of 1.60. Moreover, EDS analysis showed the presence of tracer elements such as Ca, Mg, Sr Na, K and Zn in all calcined samples. These elements can help improve the biocompatibility of the HAp and beneficial for biomedical applications.

Current biomedical field demands intensive research on cost-effective and high availability materials to fulfil its various applications. Owing to its similar characteristic to human bone, biological hydroxyapatite (HAp) has been used as an alternative in bone replacement and implantation. In this study, biological HAp was extracted from bovine bones via calcination. Powders calcined at 700 °C and 900 °C showed the presence of HAp. The FESEM analysis shows that the irregular morphology emerged and the size was increasing as the calcination temperature increased. By increasing the temperature of 1100 °C, β-TCP started to develop and influenced the ratio of Ca/P. At 900 °C, the Ca/P ratio obtained was 1.70, and closest to the theoretical ratio of Ca/P. The presences of trace elements like Ca, Mg, Sr Na, K and Zn in all samples are proved via EDS analysis, and these elements help to enhance the bioactivity hence make it a good alternative in biomedical applications.