LAUSR

Abstract As a fundamental study on the preparation of partially demineralized bone matrix, the demineralization of bovine bone granules was investigated. Bone granules were obtained by pulverizing with a highspeed blade mill and classified by sieving into three fractions. The lengths along major and minor axes of the individual granules were measured by image analysis to calculate the circle equivalent diameter and the aspect ratio as particulate properties. The bone granules were dissolved in nitric acid, and the calcium concentration in the solution was measured to characterize the degree of demineralization in terms of the calcium content in the demineralized granules. Some weak correlations between the degree of demineralization and the particulate properties were found. The demineralization rate was fitted to a first order rate equation, which was modified by considering the sphere equivalent diameter of individual granule, the characteristic aspect ratio of each fraction and the effective surface area of the mineral component to improve the approximation accuracy.