Phosphorylated chitosans were synthesized as templates to manipulate hydroxyapatite (HA) crystal nucleation, growth and microstructure. Two kinds of insoluble phosphorylated chitosan were soaked in saturated Ca(OH)2 solution for 4 d and in 1.5× SBF (simulated body fluid) solutions for 14 d at 37 °C for biomimetic mineralization. A lower [P]-content of phosphorylated chitosan promoted greater mineralization than higher [P]-content. Phosphorylated chitosan inhibited osteoblast proliferation and differentiation in vitro, while calcium phosphate phosphorylated chitosan composites did not.
Silica (SiO2)/chitosan (CS) composite aerogels are bioactive when they are submerged in simulated body fluid (SBF), causing the formation of bone-like hydroxyapatite (HAp) layer. Silica-based hybrid aerogels improve the elastic behavior, and the combined CS modifies the network entanglement as a crosslinking biopolymer. Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)/CS is used as network precursors by employing a sol-gel method assisted with high power ultrasound (600 W). Upon gelation and aging, gels are dried in supercritical CO2 to obtain monoliths. Thermograms provide information about the condensation of the remaining hydroxyl groups (400–700 °C). This step permits the evaluation of the hydroxyl group’s content of 2 to 5 OH nm−2. The formed Si-OH groups act as the inductor of apatite crystal nucleation in SBF. The N2 physisorption isotherms show a hysteresis loop of type H3, characteristic to good interconnected porosity, which facilitates both the bioactivity and the adhesion of osteoblasts cells. After two weeks of immersion in SBF, a layer of HAp microcrystals develops on the surface with a stoichiometric Ca/P molar ratio of 1.67 with spherulite morphology and uniform sizes of 6 μm. This fact asserts the bioactive behavior of these hybrid aerogels. Osteoblasts are cultured on the selected samples and immunolabeled for cytoskeletal and focal adhesion expression related to scaffold nanostructure and composition. The initial osteoconductive response observes points to a great potential of tissue engineering for the designed composite aerogels.
Organic matrix degradation and crystal maturation are extracellular events that occur simultaneously during enamel biomineralization. We hypothesized that enamel proteases control amelogenin-mineral interaction, which, in turn can affect crystal nucleation, organization, and growth. We used a recombinant amelogenin (rP172), a homolog of its major cleavage product (rP148), and a native amelogenin lacking both N- and C-termini (13k). We compared apatite binding affinity between amelogenins and their digest products during proteolysis. We further compared binding affinity among the 3 amelogenins using a Langmuir model for protein adsorption. Amelogenin-apatite binding affinity was progressively reduced with the proteolysis at the C- and N- termini by recombinant pig MMP-20 (rpMMP20) and recombinant human kallikrein-4 (rhKLK4), respectively. The binding affinity of amelogenin to apatite was found to be in the descending order of rP172, rP148, and 13k. Analysis of our data suggests that, before its complete degradation during enamel maturation, stepwise processing of amelogenin by MMP-20 and then KLK4 reduces amelogenin-apatite interaction.
Machinable mica glass ceramics with more ZnO and B2O3 showed the phase separation
by spinodal decomposition. the size of two phases formed by phase separation is in micron meter
order. The nucleation and growth of crystal is performed through the diffusion of atoms. Another
kind of materials with no ZnO and B2O3 addition behaves different mechanism of phase separation
in terms of nucleation and growth. Many fine particles are obtained after the phase separation , the
size of which is less than 100nm in diameter. Subsequently nucleation and growth in the
crystallization is accomplished by aggregation and unification of the granular phase precipitation.
The mechanism of the aggregation and unification nucleation-growth is different from one
controlled by atom diffusion in nature. The different mechanisms in crystal nucleation and growth,
caused by the composition changing.
Inferring the Effects of Compositional Boundary Layers on Crystal Nucleation, Growth Textures, and Mineral Chemistry in Natural Volcanic Tephras through Submicron-Resolution Imaging