Abstract
In recent years, a significant achievement has been made in developing biomaterials, in particular the design of bioceramics, from natural sources for various biomedical applications. In this review, we discuss the fundamentals of structure, function and characteristics of human bone, its calcium and phosphate composition, role and importance of bioceramics for bone repairing or regeneration. This review also outlines various isolation techniques and the application of novel marine-derived hydroxyapatite (HA) and tri-calcium phosphate (TCP) for biocomposites engineering, and their potentials for bone substitute and bone regeneration.