Due to its similarity with biological apatite found in vertebrate hard
tissues, calcium hydroxyapatite is one of the most investigated materials in
bone tissue engineering. As the biological apatite is not stoichiometric,
ion substituted hydroxyapatites attract much atention since they more
closely mimic the composition of natural bone. Although there are many
investigations of the influence of foreign ions on the structure and
physico-chemical properties of ion-substituted hydroxyapatites, there is
scarse information on their behaviour in different media. In the present
study, magnesium (Mg), that plays a key role in bone metabolism and silicon
(Si), that is necessary for normal skeletal development, were used as ion
substitutes. The behaviour of Mg and Si substituted hydroxyapatite in
simulated body fluid was investigated by XRD, FTIR and SEM. Obtained results
confirmed great potential of these substituted hydroxyapatites for
biomedical applications.