Small molecule‐mediated control of hydroxyapatite growth: Free energy calculations benchmarked to density functional theory

The unique, plate‐like morphology of hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanocrystals in bone lends to the hierarchical structure and functions of bone. Proteins enriched in phosphoserine (Ser‐OPO₃) and glutamic acid (Glu) residues have been proposed to regulate crystal morphology; however, the atomic‐level mechanisms remain unclear. Previous molecular dynamics studies addressing biomineralization have used force fields with limited benchmarking, especially at the water/mineral interface, and often limited sampling for the binding free energy profile. Here, we use the umbrella sampling/weighted histogram analysis method to obtain the adsorption free energy of Ser‐OPO₃ and Glu on HAP (100) and (001) surfaces to understand organic‐mediated crystal growth. The calculated organic‐water–mineral interfacial energies are carefully benchmarked to density functional theory calculations, with explicit inclusion of solvating water molecules around the adsorbate plus the Poisson–Boltzmann continuum model for long‐range solvation effects. Both amino acids adsorb more strongly on the HAP (100) face than the (001) face. Growth rate along the [100] direction should then be slower than in the [001] direction, resulting in plate‐like crystal morphology with greater surface area for the (100) than the (001) face, consistent with bone HAP crystal morphology. Thus, even small molecules are capable of regulating bone crystal growth by preferential adsorption in specific directions. Furthermore, Ser‐OPO₃ is a more effective growth modifier by adsorbing more strongly than Glu on the (100) face, providing one possible explanation for the energetically expensive process of phosphorylation of some proteins involved in bone biomineralization. The current results have broader implications for designing routes for biomimetic crystal synthesis. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Oxygen isotope homogeneity assessment for apatite U-Th-Pb geochronology reference materials

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) measurement of oxygen isotopes in apatite has been employed more and more in petrogenetic, metallogenic, and climate change studies. Well-characterised reference materials are needed due to the matrix effect, but they are yet to be well established. In this study, we conducted in-situ oxygen isotopic and chemical analyses on six commonly used apatite reference materials (ie, Emerald, Kovdor, McClure, Mud Tank, Otter Lake, and Slyudyanka) and two in-house apatite references (Qinghu and GEMS 203) to assess their oxygen isotope homogeneity and applicability for microbeam analyses. Our results show that all these apatite references are in general chemically homogeneous. In terms of oxygen isotopes, GEMS 203 (δ¹⁸O = 9.85 ± 0.40‰ [2SD], corrected by Durango 3), Kovdor (δ¹⁸O = 6.55 ± 0.38‰, 2SD), and McClure (δ¹⁸O = 5.94 ± 0.42‰, 2SD) are fairly homogeneous, whereas Emerald (δ¹⁸O = 10.37 ± 0.45‰, 2SD), Mud Tank (δ¹⁸O = 6.35 ± 0.46‰, 2SD), Otter Lake (δ¹⁸O = 9.71 ± 0.47‰, 2SD), Qinghu (δ¹⁸O = 5.44 ± 0.49‰, 2SD), and Slyudyanka (δ¹⁸O = 17.49 ± 0.43‰, 2SD) are less homogenous. This indicates that the former group represents better reference materials for in-situ oxygen isotopic analyses, whilst the latter group can be used as secondary reference material for analytical quality control.     

Properties of Polyamide-6 Composites Reinforced with Hydroxyapatite Nanospheres

Hydroxyapatite nanospheres (nHA) were first synthesized from (NH₄)₂HPO₄ and CaCl₂ precursors in the presence of poly(vinyl alcohol) templates. The structure and morphology of as-synthesized products were examined by materials characterization techniques. X-ray diffraction patterns and Fourier transform infrared spectra showed that the nHA (50–70 nm) exhibit the crystalline structure and vibration bands of HA. The Ca/P molar ratio of nHA approached the stoichiometric value of 1.67. The nHA were then melt blended with polyamide-6 (PA6), followed by injection molding. Tensile and flexural measurements showed that the tensile and bending strengths of injection molded PA6–10 wt% nHA composite were close to those of human cortical bone. A simulated body fluid immersion test revealed that apatite crystals can be readily deposited on the PA6–10 wt% nHA composite surface after immersion for 30 days.     

Sr5-x（PO4）2SiO4∶xEu2+磷灰石荧光粉的发光性能及LED应用研究

采用高温固相法在还原气氛下合成了Sr5-x(PO4)2SiO4∶xEu2+磷灰石型荧光粉。通过XRD、PL、SEM对样品的晶体结构、激发和发射光谱以及形貌进行了表征。在Eu2+浓度较低时,Eu2+占据不同的晶体格位而形成两个发光中心,发射光谱具有双发射峰;随着掺杂浓度的增加,Eu2+之间的能量传递使黄光区域的发射峰强度逐步增强,并在x=0.075时达到最大值。发射光谱红移可能是Eu2+受晶场强度和能量传递共同作用的结果。考察了该材料在白光LED中的封装应用性能,其双发射峰有助于提升白光LED光源的显色性。     

不同磺化及碱处理聚醚醚酮的表面化学组成及体外生物活性评价

提出一种酸碱结合改性聚醚醚酮（PEEK）方法,并评价其对PEEK表面类骨磷灰石形成的影响.结果表明,通过磺化处理引入-SO₃H,显著改善了样品的亲水性,且磺化程度与H₂SO₄浓度和磺化反应时间成正比,并影响样品的表面形貌.质量分数为85% H₂SO₄处理30 min的PEEK-S具有较好的改性效果.将PEEK-S进一步用NaOH处理,可继续引入Na元素并提高样品的亲水性,但会受处理时间的影响.模拟体液（SBF）浸泡的生物活性评价结果表明,磺化后碱处理24 h的PEEK-Na具有快速的类骨磷灰石沉积能力,浸泡3 d的样品表面即可完全被沉积的类骨磷灰石覆盖,表现出较佳的生物活性.此酸碱双重改性方法操作简单,可大幅度提升PEEK的生物活性,具有较好的应用前景.     

Bioactive Gel Coatings Derived from Vinyltrimethoxysilane

An ethanol (EtOH) solution of polymerized vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS), about 20-mers, was mixed with an aqueous solution of calcium acetate (Ca(OAc)2) and refluxed in N2 for 1 h to give sols of a typical composition VTMS : H2O : EtOH : Ca(OAc)2 = 1 : 9 : 8 : 0.05 (mol). Homogeneous films could be produced, by dip-coating, on Nylon6® and soda-lime glass, but not on polypropylene or polytetrafluoroethylene. The gel films did not deposit apatite within 14 days of soaking in a simulated body fluid whereas films abraded with emery paper as well as bulk gels deposited apatite on the surfaces within 7 days, indicating the present gel was suitable for bioactive coatings on Nylon6®     

Determination of the composition of human urinary calculi composed of whewellite, weddellite and carbonate apatite using artificial neural networks

More than half of the analyzed calculi from patients from Macedonia are composed of whewellite, weddellite and carbonate apatite (as single components or in binary or ternary mixtures). In order to develop a simple and satisfactorily reliable method for quantitative analysis of urinary calculi, the possibility was explored to employ artificial neural networks (ANNs) as a tool for such a purpose. By changing the number of input and hidden neurons, a search was made for the three-layered feed-forward ANN which would give the best performance. The root-mean-square errors (RMSE) for the test samples are: 0.035 for whewellite, 0.064 for weddellite and 0.078 for carbonate apatite. The accuracy of the method was checked using standard-addition method on real samples. The discrepancies between calculated and predicted mass fraction of constituents were in the range acceptable for use of the proposed method in clinical laboratories.     

Application of Statistical Rate Theory of Interfacial Transport to Study Solid Surface Heterogeneity from Controlled-rate Thermal Desorption

Controlled-rate thermodesorption (CRTD) spectra are obtained by adjusting the heating rate in such a way that the rate of desorption can be constant. A quantitative analysis of the obtained spectra is presented, based on application of the statistical rate theory of interfacial transport (SRTIT) to describe both adsorption and desorption kinetics. The SRTIT approach relates the rates of adsorption and desorption to the chemical potentials of the adsorbate in the gaseous and in the adsorbed phases. This quantitative analysis of the CRTD spectra yields the condensation approximation for the actual adsorption energy distribution. For the purpose of illustration, an analysis is made of water desorption from a synthetic apatite mineral under CRTD and classical TPD conditions. The influence of the adsorption and desorption rates is also discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Solid‐state NMR spectroscopy of Pb‐rich apatite

Pb‐containing hydroxylapatite phases synthesized under aqueous conditions were investigated by X‐ray diffraction and solid‐state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques to determine the Pb, Ca distribution. ³¹P and ¹H magic‐angle spinning (MAS) NMR results indicate slight shifts of the isotropic chemical shift with increased Ca content and complex lineshapes at compositions with near equal amounts of Ca and Pb. ³¹P{²⁰⁷Pb} and ¹H{²⁰⁷Pb} rotational‐echo double resonance (REDOR) results for intermediate compositions show that resolved spectral features cannot be assigned simply in terms of local Ca, Pb configurations or coexisting phases. ²⁰⁷Pb MAS NMR spectra are easily obtained for these materials and contain well‐resolved resonances for crystallographically unique A1 and A2 Pb sites. Splitting of the A1 and A2 ²⁰⁷Pb resonances for pure hydroxyl‐pyromorphite (Pb₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂) compared to natural pyromorphite (Pb₅(PO₄)₃Cl) suggests symmetry reduced from hexagonal. We find that ²⁰⁷Pb{¹H} CP/MAS NMR is impractical in Pb‐rich hydroxylapatites due to fast ²⁰⁷Pb relaxation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.