The researchers at IIT Hyderabad Develop bone substitutes from eggshells

The researchers at IIT Hyderabad and BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT) of Jalandhar have developed a process by which bone implant materials can be synthesized from waste egg shells. They seek to produce bone substitute materials such as – Tri-Calcium phosphate (TCP) without the use of toxic chemicals. The natural source of choice of the IIT-Hyderabad researchers is egg shells. Eggshells are made up largely of calcium (95.1%) along with small amounts of proteins and water. In modern medicine, damaged and missing bones are replaced with bone from either patient or donor, or by using artificial materials containing calcium, such as Plaster of Paris, and phosphate compounds like hydroxyapatite and calcium phosphate. TCP is a commonly-used bone substitute material from natural sources.