Calcium phosphate is the name given to a family of minerals containing calcium ions (Ca²⁺) together with orthophosphates (PO₄^3-), metaphosphates or pyrophosphates (P₂O₇^4-) and occasionally hydrogen or hydroxide ions. Seventy percent of bone is made up of hydroxylapatite, a calcium phosphate mineral. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure and specific physical properties. ... General Name, Symbol, Number calcium, Ca, 20 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 4, s Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 40. ... An electrostatic potential map of the nitrate ion (NO3−). Areas coloured red are lower in energy than areas colored yellow An ion is an atom or group of atoms which have lost or gained one or more electrons, making them negatively or positively charged. ... In chemistry, the anion, the salts, and the esters of pyrophosphoric acid are called pyrophosphates. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... Hydroxide is a polyatomic ion consisting of oxygen and hydrogen: OH− It has a charge of −1. ... Hydroxylapatite is a naturally occurring form of calcium apatite with the formula Ca5(PO4)3(OH), but is usually written Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2 to denote that the crystal unit cell comprises two molecules. ...

Uses

For the production of phosphoric acid and fertilizers, for example in the Odda process. Overuse of certain forms of calcium phosphate can lead to nutrient-containing surface runoff and subsequent adverse effects upon receiving waters such as algal blooms and eutrophication. Phosphoric acid, also known as orthophosphoric acid or phosphoric(V) acid, is an inorganic mineral acid having the chemical formula H3PO4. ... Spreading manure, an organic fertilizer Fertilizers (also spelled fertilisers) are compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either via the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves. ... The nitrophosphate process (also known as the Odda process) was a method for the industrial production of nitrogen fertilizers invented by Erling Johnson in the city of Odda, Norway around 1927. ... Link title {{portal|Food} A nutrient is either a chemical element or compound used in an organisms metabolism or physiology. ... Runoff flowing into a stormwater drain Surface runoff is water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources, that flows over the land surface, and is a major component of the water cycle[1][2]. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called overland flow. ... Algal blooms can present problems for ecosystems and human society An algal bloom is a relatively rapid increase in the population of (usually) phytoplankton algae in an aquatic system. ... Eutrophication refers to an increase in the primary productivity of any ecosystem. ...

Calcium phosphate is also a raising agent, with E number E341. It is also used in cheese products. For the mathematical constant see: E (mathematical constant). ...

It is also used as a nutritional supplement. There is some debate about the different bioavailabilities of the different calcium salts. In the United States, a dietary supplement is defined under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 as a product taken by the mouth that contains a dietary ingredient that is intended as a supplement to the diet. ... 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 pharmacokinetic properties of drugs. ...

Another practical application of the compound is its use in gene transfection 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, so that new protein can be expressed. Introducing DNA into eukaryotic cells, such as animal cells, is called transfection. ...

Calcium phosphate compounds

• Calcium dihydrogen phosphate, E341(i): Ca(H₂PO₄)₂
• Calcium hydrogen phosphate, E341(ii): CaHPO₄
• Tricalcium phosphate (or tricalcic phosphate), E341(iii): Ca₃(PO₄)₂

External Links

• Calcium Phosphate Method for Gene Transfection of Mammalian Cells