ENHANCING THE POTENTIAL OF PLECO FISH BONES (HYPOSTOMUS PLECOSTOMUS) WITH GRADUAL HEATING AND BALL MILLING METHODS FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

Fish bones are a rich source of naturally occurring calcium phosphate that can be processed to obtain hydroxyapatite (HA). HA was produced by the gradual heating and ball milling of pleco bones to 900 °C for 5 hours. HA was characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray (EDX), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)analyses. The SEM images showed HA with different morphologies before and after the gradual heating and ball milling process. The EDX analysis indicated the ratio of calcium and phosphate with an atomic ratio of Ca/P of 2.10. The FTIR showed a characteristic wavenumber of the functional groups of HA (OH- and PO₄³). The HA phase was identified through the XRD analysis. HA obtained from pleco fish bones (Hypostomus plecostomus) has the potential to be used in bone repair and biomedical applications.