Structure of bioapatite in human foetal bones: An X-ray diffraction study

Bioapatite is a calcium phosphate closely resembling the hydroxyapatite (Ca-10(PO4)(6)(OH)) and is considered to be the major component of the mineralised part in mammalian bones. Even if bones are widely investigated, several aspects concerning the initial bone formation stages are unclear and need to be clarified. In this work advanced X-ray powder diffraction techniques have been exploited to get insights on the structural evolution of human bioapatite during the early stages of ossification processes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.