“…The incorporation of cations other than Ca 2+ into the HA structure generally provokes a decrease in its stability (Heijligers, Driessens & Verbeck, 1979;Le Geros & Le Geros, 1984;Baravelli, Bigi, Foresti, Ripamonti & Roveri, 1984;Bigi, Gazzano, Ripamonti, Foresti & Roveri, 1986;Bigi et al, 1991). The destabilizing effect of some ions, such as Mg 2÷, Mn 2÷, Fe 2÷, Co 2÷ and Ni 2÷, is so evident that they inhibit the synthesis of HA, promoting the formation of ~-tricalcium phosphate [/3-TCP (Le Geros, Taheri, Quirolgico & Le Geros, 1980;Nancollas, 1982)].…”