The mineralization process of the osseous layer, which is highly calcified in vivo, was successfully imitated by the immersion process of the decalcified fish scales in simplified simulated body fluid (SSBF). An alkali treatment was used to modify the native collagen in the decalcified Tilapia fish scale. After the alkali treatment, the mineralization was facilitated in SSBF. The XRD patterns and SEM-EDS observation results demonstrated that the externally-mineralized layers by the immersion process were highly similar to the osseous layer containing lower-crystalline hydroxyapatite, suggesting that the simple biomimetic precipitation process was developed.
Keywords: alkali treatment; collagen; fish scales; hydroxyapatite; mineralization; osseous layer; simplified simulated body fluid.