Analysis of hydroxyapatite nanofiber growth [abstract]

Abstract

Hydroxyapatite nanofibers have the potential to play a significant role in future biomedical materials due to their biocompatibility and highly anisotropic nature. Before this material can be used in applications, a process to produce ultra-long nanofibers with uniform lengths must be developed. The goal of this research was to determine the nucleation and growth rates of hydroxyapatite nanofibers and use this information to design a process to control the length of the crystals. The methods used in this work could be well suited for characterizing and controlling the growth of other one-dimensional nanomaterials.