Formation of nano-hydroxyapatite in gelatin droplets and the resulting porous composite microspheres

A one-pot strategy was first presented in this paper to synthesize gelatin/hydroxyapatite (HAP) composite microspheres in a water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion. Using gelatin droplets as microreactors and colloid protective medium, needle-like nano-HAP crystals (5 nm × 60–100 nm) in form of clusters were homogeneously and orderly precipitated within gelatin matrix. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the as-prepared microspheres with an average diameter of 7.5 μm displayed a narrow particle size distribution, a high dispersity and a naturally porous structure. This microsphere material is expected to have a great potential for both controlled drug release and faster bone in-growth in bone tissue engineering.