  Natural ivory is no longer readily or legally available, as it is obtained
primarily from elephant tusks, which now enjoy international protection. Ivory,
however, is the best material known for piano keys. We present a
hydroxylapatite-gelatin biocomposite that is chemically identical to natural
ivory but with functional properties optimized to replace it. As this
biocomposite is fabricated from abundant materials in an environmentally
friendly process and is furthermore biodegradable, it is a sustainable solution
for piano keys with the ideal functional properties of natural ivory.
