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Calcium phosphate

 

 
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Calcium phosphate
 
 
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Calcium phosphate is the name given to a family of mineral
Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid formed through Geology processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties....
s containing calcium
Calcium

Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft grey alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth most abundant element by mass in the earth's Crust ....
 ion
Ion

An ion is an atom or molecule which has lost or gained one or more electrons, giving it a positive or negative electrical charge. According to the Bohr_model this will be from or in the outer shield 'n'....
s (Ca2+) together with orthophosphates (PO43-), metaphosphates or pyrophosphate
Pyrophosphate

In chemistry, the anion, the salts, and the esters of pyrophosphoric acid are called pyrophosphates. Pyrophosphates were originally prepared by heating phosphates: the prefix pyro- derived from Greek, means "fire" in this context....
s (P2O74-) and occasionally hydrogen
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
 or hydroxide
Hydroxide

In chemistry, hydroxide is the name for the Diatomic molecule anion OH-, consisting of oxygen and hydrogen atoms, usually derived from the Dissociation of a base ....
 ions. Seventy percent of bone
Bone

Bones are rigid organ that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red blood cell and white blood cells and store minerals....
 is made up of hydroxylapatite
Hydroxylapatite

Hydroxylapatite, also called hydroxyapatite, is a mineral. It is a naturally occurring form of calcium apatite with the formula Ca53, but is usually written Ca1062 to denote that the crystal unit cell comprises two entities....
, a calcium phosphate mineral. Tooth enamel
Tooth enamel

Tooth enamel is the hardest and most highly mineralized substance of the body, and with dentin, cementum, and Pulp is one of the four major tissues which make up the tooth in vertebrates....
 is also largely calcium phosphate.

the production of phosphoric acid
Phosphoric acid

Phosphoric acid, also known as orthophosphoric acid or phosphoric acid, is a mineral acid having the chemical formula Hydrogen3PhosphorusOxygen4....
 and fertilizer
Fertilizer

Fertilizers are chemical compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either through the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves....
s, for example in the Odda process
Nitrophosphate process

The nitrophosphate process was a method for the industrial production of nitrogen fertilizers invented by Erling Johnson in the city of Odda, Norway around 1927....
.






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Calcium phosphate is the name given to a family of mineral
Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid formed through Geology processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties....
s containing calcium
Calcium

Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft grey alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth most abundant element by mass in the earth's Crust ....
 ion
Ion

An ion is an atom or molecule which has lost or gained one or more electrons, giving it a positive or negative electrical charge. According to the Bohr_model this will be from or in the outer shield 'n'....
s (Ca2+) together with orthophosphates (PO43-), metaphosphates or pyrophosphate
Pyrophosphate

In chemistry, the anion, the salts, and the esters of pyrophosphoric acid are called pyrophosphates. Pyrophosphates were originally prepared by heating phosphates: the prefix pyro- derived from Greek, means "fire" in this context....
s (P2O74-) and occasionally hydrogen
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
 or hydroxide
Hydroxide

In chemistry, hydroxide is the name for the Diatomic molecule anion OH-, consisting of oxygen and hydrogen atoms, usually derived from the Dissociation of a base ....
 ions. Seventy percent of bone
Bone

Bones are rigid organ that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red blood cell and white blood cells and store minerals....
 is made up of hydroxylapatite
Hydroxylapatite

Hydroxylapatite, also called hydroxyapatite, is a mineral. It is a naturally occurring form of calcium apatite with the formula Ca53, but is usually written Ca1062 to denote that the crystal unit cell comprises two entities....
, a calcium phosphate mineral. Tooth enamel
Tooth enamel

Tooth enamel is the hardest and most highly mineralized substance of the body, and with dentin, cementum, and Pulp is one of the four major tissues which make up the tooth in vertebrates....
 is also largely calcium phosphate.

Uses

For the production of phosphoric acid
Phosphoric acid

Phosphoric acid, also known as orthophosphoric acid or phosphoric acid, is a mineral acid having the chemical formula Hydrogen3PhosphorusOxygen4....
 and fertilizer
Fertilizer

Fertilizers are chemical compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either through the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves....
s, for example in the Odda process
Nitrophosphate process

The nitrophosphate process was a method for the industrial production of nitrogen fertilizers invented by Erling Johnson in the city of Odda, Norway around 1927....
. Overuse of certain forms of calcium phosphate can lead to nutrient
Nutrient

A nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment....
-containing surface runoff
Surface runoff

Surface runoff is the water flow which occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources flows over the land....
 and subsequent adverse effects upon receiving waters such as algal bloom
Algal bloom

An algal bloom is a rapid increase in the population of algae in an aquatic system. Algal blooms may occur in freshwater as well as marine environments....
s and eutrophication
Eutrophication

Eutrophication is an increase in chemical nutrients — compounds containing nitrogen or phosphorus — in an ecosystem, and may occur on land or in water....
.

Calcium phosphate is also a raising agent, with E number
E number

E numbers are number codes for food additives and are usually found on food labels throughout the European Union. The numbering scheme follows that of the International Numbering System as determined by the Codex Alimentarius committee....
 E341. It is also used in cheese products.

It is also used as a nutritional supplement. There is some debate about the different bioavailabilities
Bioavailability

In pharmacology, bioavailability is used to describe the fraction of an administered dose of unchanged drug that reaches the systemic circulation, one of the principal pharmacokinetics properties of medication....
 of the different calcium salts.

It is used in a variety of dental products for remineralization
Remineralisation

In biogeochemistry, remineralisation refers to the transformation of organic molecules to inorganic forms, typically mediated by biological activity....
 and as a diluent
Excipient

An excipient is an inactive substance used as a carrier for the active ingredients of a medication. In many cases, an "active" substance may not be easily administered and absorbed by the human body; in such cases the substance in question may be dissolved into or mixed with an excipient....
 in some medications where it will give the tablet a grey colour in the absence of additional colouring agents.

Another practical application of the compound is its use in gene transfection
Transfection

Transfection is the process of introducing nucleic acids into cells by non-viral methods . The term transformation is preferred to describe non-viral DNA transfer in bacteria and non-animal eukaryotic cells such as fungus, algae and plants....
 of cells. It is not too well understood, but the calcium phosphate precipitate and DNA form a complex that is thought to help the DNA enter the cell.

Calcium phosphate compounds


  • Calcium dihydrogen phosphate
    Calcium dihydrogen phosphate

    Calcium dihydrogen phosphate Ca2 is a chemical compound. It is commonly found as the monohydrate, Ca2?H2O, which releases a water molecule before it melts at 109 ?C....
    , E341(i): Ca(H2PO4)2
  • Calcium hydrogen phosphate, E341(ii): CaHPO4
  • Tricalcium phosphate
    Tricalcium phosphate

    Tricalcium phosphate is a Compound with formula Ca32. It is also known as calcium orthophosphate, tertiary calcium phosphate, tribasic calcium phosphate, or "bone ash" ....
     (or tricalcic phosphate), E341(iii): Ca3(PO4)2
    • Calcium phosphate Ca3(PO4)2