Home - News - A new technology for producing nano-hydroxyapatite developed by Lobachevsky University chemists

27 July 2017

Today, deterioration of human health is one of the most acute problems that modern medicine is facing. First of all, it concerns the widespread degradation of hard tissues - bones and teeth. To solve this problem, it is necessary to create medical materials that restore the structure of hard tissues. The chemical basis of such materials is hydroxyapatite, an inorganic compound which is one of the main components of bones and teeth. A team of Lobachevsky University chemists headed by Professor Alexander Knyazev has developed a new one-stage technology for producing artificial nano-hydroxyapatite, which is used for making implants, restoring tooth enamel and skin defects. Key advantages of the new technology include: increased biocompatibility with human cells as compared with existing materials; the possibility of chemical modification for controlling biological and mechanical properties; the possibility of creating various materials (from nanopowders to ceramics with  various porosity). The main application areas for the results of this work are: orthopedics and traumatology (bone implants); pharmaceutical industry (biologically active food additives as a source of calcium); aesthetic medicine (fillers for smoothing mimic wrinkles); coatings for medical devices and instruments. Studies in this area conducted by Alexander Knyazev, Evgeny Bulanov and their colleagues have been supported by grants of the Russian Scientific Foundation and of the Russian Federation Government.