Synthesis and characterization of bioceramic from Malaysian cockle shell

Anadara granosa (Ag) is a marine bivalve cockles which can be found in the tidal mudflats bordering the coastal region of many south East Asian countries particularly Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. This research is aim to investigate the potential of Malaysian cockle (Anadara Granosa) shell to be used as bone substitute material. Therefore, in this study two types of bioceramic has been produced which made from a pure Anadara granosa (Ag) powder and the another one is a mixture of Ag and synthetic Hydroxyapatite (HAP) powder with a mix ratio of 3:7. Pellets of bioceramic from these powders were fabricated by uniaxial pressing technique followed by sintering process at different temperatures. Sintering of HAP-Anadara granosa (HAP-Ag) bioceramic samples at 700°C resulted in highest compressive strength without the effect of decomposition. The results indicated that the average apparent density of these samples was 1.45g/cm
³
and the average compressive strength was 7.0 MPa. With the compressive strengths comparable to human bone, HAP-Ag is suggested to be used for injectable bone filler and bone graft for non-load bearing bone such as cervical and lumbar bone.