A PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF MICROSPHERICAL SINTERED BODIES OF HYDROXYAPATITE AND A CHROMATOGRAPHIC PACKING MATERIAL COMPRISING THE MICROSPHERICAL SINTERED BODIES OF HYDROXYAPATITE

摘要

Microspherical sintered bodies of hydroxyapatite are prepared according to a new specific process wherein a suspension having hydroxyapatite microparticles dispersed in water or an organic solvent or a mixture of water and an organic solvent compatible therewith is atomized into a heating zone maintained above 500 DEG C whereby spherical agglomerates of hydroxyapatite microparticles formed by drying and solidification of microdroplets of the suspension are sintered while the agglomerates are suspended in the heating zone. Microspherical sintered bodies of hydroxyapatite thus obtained, which may be modified by an optical heat treatment to adjust the surface area of the sintered body and growth of crystals therein, are useful in various fields of industry, for example, as a sorption agent in chromatographic separation.