• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
ERN: Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM

ERN: Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM

  • About
    • About AAAS
    • About the NSF
    • About the Conference
    • Partners/Supporters
    • Project Team
  • Conference
  • Abstracts
    • Undergraduate Abstract Locator
    • Graduate Abstract Locator
    • Abstract Submission Process
    • Presentation Schedules
    • Abstract Submission Guidelines
    • Presentation Guidelines
  • Travel Awards
  • Resources
    • Award Winners
    • Code of Conduct-AAAS Meetings
    • Code of Conduct-ERN Conference
    • Conference Agenda
    • Conference Materials
    • Conference Program Books
    • ERN Photo Galleries
    • Events | Opportunities
    • Exhibitor Info
    • HBCU-UP/CREST PI/PD Meeting
    • In the News
    • NSF Harassment Policy
    • Plenary Session Videos
    • Professional Development
    • Science Careers Handbook
    • Additional Resources
    • Archives
  • Engage
    • Webinars
    • ERN 10-Year Anniversary Videos
    • Plenary Session Videos
  • Contact Us
  • Login

Conversion of Egg Shell and Seashell Waste into a Valuable Nanobiomaterial for Tissue Engineering

Graduate #80
Discipline:
Subcategory: Materials Science

Vincent Hembrick-Holloman - Tuskegee University


Calcium Silicate (CaSiO3) biomaterials have been proposed as a promising bioactive material for potential tissue engineering applications due to its good bioactivity, biocompatibility, and degradability. Every year, about 6 to 8 million tons of sea shell waste is produced globally, with 1.5 million tons in South East Asia alone. Along with 76 billion eggs consumed each year in the United States resulting in 1.2 Million Kg of eggshell waste each year. In this study, we investigate the conversion of naturally occurring waste, such as eggshells and seashells, into a valuable nanomaterial that can go on to serve as a bioactive ceramic or scaffold for applications that include bone and tooth regeneration. The conversion of millions of tons of waste can serve as not only a highly environmentally friendly, but also a cost effective route to tissue engineering. CaSiO3 was synthesized from eggshells and three different sources of seashell. In a typical experiment a 1:1 mixture of CaCO3 and amorphous SiO2 ball milled (Spex Sample Prep 8000D) for 100 min in two separate canisters, each containing 5 g of the precursors and 8 pieces of 6 mm steel balls. The product was then sintered at 1000ºC at a rate of 10ºC/min from room temperature and allowed to stay for 3 H before cooling back to room temperature in a vacuum tube furnace (GLS-1300X). This product was then crushed in a ceramic mortar into a fine powder and then characterized with X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy (FTIR), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). XRD results revealed the formation of polycrystalline Calcium Silicate with all the peaks marching JCPDS Pdf file #98-000-046. The particle sizes measured using TEM micrographs are in the nanometer range. In conclusion, eggshell and seashells were converted from waste into a valuable nanomaterial, Calcium Silicate. This method doesn’t require the use of toxic and acidic chemicals and can also be produced with industrially scalable methods such as ball-milling and sintering. Future studies will attempt to use this nanomaterial to produce a biomaterial that can not only promote cell differentiation and proliferation but also display the adequate mechanical properties as that of natural bone and teeth.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): Alabama EPSCoR GRSP

Faculty Advisor: Vijay Rangari, rangariv@mytu.tuskegee.edu

Role: All, I did my research solely in conjunction with help and feedback from my advisor.

Sidebar

Abstract Locators

  • Undergraduate Abstract Locator
  • Graduate Abstract Locator

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DUE-1930047. Any opinions, findings, interpretations, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of its authors and do not represent the views of the AAAS Board of Directors, the Council of AAAS, AAAS’ membership or the National Science Foundation.

AAAS

1200 New York Ave, NW
Washington,DC 20005
202-326-6400
Contact Us
About Us

  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

The World’s Largest General Scientific Society

Useful Links

  • Membership
  • Careers at AAAS
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Focus Areas

  • Science Education
  • Science Diplomacy
  • Public Engagement
  • Careers in STEM

Focus Areas

  • Shaping Science Policy
  • Advocacy for Evidence
  • R&D Budget Analysis
  • Human Rights, Ethics & Law

© 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science