19F NMR spectroscopy of glass ceramics containing fluorapatites

Glass ceramics which contain apatite crystals are used as implant materials in medicine. Because most of these glass ceramics are comprised of fluoride-containing glass compositions, the apatites should be fluoride-containing apatites. The fluorine content of these apatites is important for medical applications. The purpose of the current study was to determine the possibilities of measuring the fluorine content of these apatites. High resolution solid state 19F Magic Angle Spinning (MAS) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectra of apatite-containing glass ceramics have been obtained. Using the correlation between the isotropic 19F chemical shift and the fluorine content, it was possible to determine the fluorine content of the apatites.