Designing Calcium Phosphate Nanoparticles with the Co-Precipitation Technique to Improve Phosphorous Availability in Broiler Chicks

Abstract

Dicalcium phosphate (DP) is a mineral involved in the metabolism and development and is used as a dietary source of phosphorus (PT) for poultry. Our study objective is to design nano-dicalcium phosphate (NDP) by co-precipitation. The methodological procedure was divided into two phases: (1) NDP synthesis, and (2) bird performance, digestibility, and Ca-P in chick’s tissues. The sizes of the NDP were 20–80 nm. NDP had the Ca: P ratio of 1:1.12. The birds were divided into control diet (available P (Pa) = 0.13%) and three supplementary P sources [Commercial (Calcium phosphate), analytical grade (DP) and nanoparticles (NDP)] with three Pa levels (0.24, 0.35, 0.46%). Supplementary P sources compared to the control treatment had the highest body weight gain (698.56 vs. 228; p < 0.05) and feed intake (FI) (965.18 vs. 345.82), respectively. The digestibility of PT (67%) improved with 0.35% NDP. The highest contents of PT -breast were with the levels of 0.35 and 0.46% NDP. The PT, ash, and diameters were higher (p < 0.05) with supplementary P compared to the control treatment. As conclusion, the use of 0.35% NDP was the ideal dose in the chicks for the digestibility, absorption values, and the amount of PT in the breast.

The Influence of Residuals Combining Temperature and Reaction Time on Calcium Phosphate Transformation in a Precipitation Process

“…We used CaCl 2 and Na 2 HPO 4 as the starting materials to remove the effect of ammonium nitrate by-products and focus on the washing step to observe the challenges and its effect on the production of different CaP phases. Na 2 HPO 4 is a common chemical that has been used before, i.e., [ 17 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. We have used a Ca:P ratio of 1:1, as a Ca:P between 1–2:1 is recommended to be efficient for bone health [ 42 ].…”

“…CaCl 2 from Acros Organics BVBA (Geel, Belgium) and Na 2 HPO 4 from Sigma-Aldrich Sweden AB (Stockholm, Sweden) and deionized (DI) water were used in this experiment. A commonly used precipitation method was studied in this experiment [ 17 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ], in which the effect of residual ions from the reaction solution on the calcium phosphate transformation combining the reaction temperature and time was analyzed.…”