as-received TCP powder was ground using a freezing ball mill (JXFSTPRP-CL,
Jingxin, Shanghai, China; frequency = 60 Hz) for 30 min at −10
°C; the ground TCP particles were denoted as TCP-G. Both TCP
and TCP-G particles were observed using a laser confocal microscope
(LSM700, Carl Zeiss, Germany). The size and distribution of both TCP
and TCP-G particles were determined using dynamic light scattering
(DLS). The TCP and TCP-G particles were dispersed in anhydrous ethanol
at 0.1 mg/mL. Then, the particle size was measured using a Brookhaven
Zeta BI-PALS zeta-sizer at 25 °C. Alkalinity of the TCP/TCP-G
powder was measured as described above. The Ca2+/PO43– concentrations of the supernatant were
examined using a microplate reader (SynergyH1, BioTek, USA) using
a calcium colorimetric assay kit (MAK022, Sigma-Aldrich, USA) and
a phosphate colorimetric assay kit (MAK030, Sigma-Aldrich, USA), respectively.