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Biomimetic Growth of Calcium Phosphate Crystals

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A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 December 2018) | Viewed by 20465

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Dr. Michele Iafisco

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Laboratory of Bioceramics and Bio-hybrid Composites, CNR - Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics, Via Granarolo, 64 I-48018 Faenza (RA), Italy
Interests: biomaterials; nanomedicine; bioceramics; biomineralization; calcium phosphates
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Dr. José Manuel Delgado-López

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Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (IACT, CSIC-UGR), Armilla, Granada, Spain
Interests: biomineralization; crystallography; SAXS-WAXS-AFM; bioinspired materials; drug delivery

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding how living organisms form their extremely specialized mineralized structures, and identifying the organic molecules controlling the final crystal size, shape and polymorphism, which in turn determine their unique mechanical properties, is highly relevant, not only on the fundamental knowledge side, but also as a source of inspiration for the design of advanced biomaterials. In fact, bio-inspiration is currently among the most exciting concepts ruling advancements in materials science, medicine and other smart technological applications. Synthetic calcium phosphates are among the most interesting and versatile biomimetic materials since they chemically resemble the inorganic phase in hard tissues (e.g., bone, dentine, fish scales, horns of different animals) and pathological calcifications (e.g., dental and urinary calculi, tendon mineralization, calcification of blood vessels). Most of their excellent features, including biocompatibility and bioactivity, can be significantly enhanced by improving their biomimetism, that is, by mimicking the size, morphology, (nano)structure and chemical composition of the biological counterparts. Therefore, the synthesis of calcium phosphates under physiological conditions (so-called “biomimetic”) or mediated by organic additives, resembling the small molecules or macromolecules of the organic matrix of bone and teeth, is a matter of intensive research and a hot topic.

In this Special Issue, we welcome orginal research and review articles covering the state of the art and the lastest results on the synthesis of biomimetic calcium phosphates aiming to either providing a better understading of the mechanisms underlying mineral formation in living organims or designing novel biomaterials with higher level of performance and new functionalities.

Dr. Michele Iafisco
Dr. José Manuel Delgado-López
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Calcium phosphate
Biomineralization
Biomaterials
Nanomedicine

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 9781 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bioinspired Mineralization of Type I Collagen Fibrils with Apatite in Presence of Citrate and Europium Ions

by Jaime Gómez Morales, Raquel Fernández Penas, Cristóbal Verdugo-Escamilla, Lorenzo Degli Esposti, Francesca Oltolina, Maria Prat, Michele Iafisco and Jorge Fernando Fernández Sánchez

Crystals 2019, 9(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst9010013 - 25 Dec 2018

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3144

Abstract

Synthetic nanostructured hybrid composites based on collagen and nanocrystalline apatites are interesting materials for the generation of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. In this work, mineralized collagen fibrils were prepared in the presence of citrate and Eu³⁺. Citrate is an indispensable and essential structural/functional component of bone. Eu³⁺ endows the mineralized fibrils of the necessary luminescent features to be potentially employed as a diagnostic tool in biomedical applications. The assembly and mineralization of collagen were performed by the neutralization method, which consists in adding dropwise a Ca(OH)₂ solution to a H₃PO₄ solution containing the dispersed type I collagen until neutralization. In the absence of citrate, the resultant collagen fibrils were mineralized with nanocrystalline apatites. When citrate was added in the titrant solution in a Citrate/Ca molar ratio of 2 or 1, it acted as an inhibitor of the transformation of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) to nanocrystalline apatite. The addition of Eu³⁺ and citrate in the same titrant solution lead to the formation of Eu³⁺–doped citrate–coated ACP/collagen fibrils. Interestingly, the relative luminescent intensity and luminescence lifetime of this latter composite were superior to those of Eu³⁺–doped apatite/collagen prepared in absence of citrate. The cytocompatibility tests, evaluated by the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) (MTT) colorimetric assay in a dose–dependent manner on GTL–16 human gastric carcinoma cells, on MG–63 human osteosarcoma cells and on the m17.ASC, a spontaneously immortalized mouse mesenchymal stem cell clone from subcutaneous adipose tissue, show that, in general, all samples are highly cytocompatible. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimetic Growth of Calcium Phosphate Crystals)

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12 pages, 1762 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Habit Change of Monoclinic Hydroxyapatite Crystals Growing from Aqueous Solution in the Presence of Citrate Ions: The Role of 2D Epitaxy

by Linda Pastero, Marco Bruno and Dino Aquilano

Crystals 2018, 8(8), 308; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst8080308 - 27 Jul 2018

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5328

Abstract

Calcium hydroxyapatite (HAp) has been crystallized from aqueous solutions in the presence of citrate ions, in two temperature intervals. At lower temperature, where citrate could form the stable 3D-ordered phase Ca-citrate-tetrahydrate (Ca-Cit-TH), only the monoclinic (P2₁/c) HAp polymorph occurs and assumes the shape of fence-like aggregates, built by sharply [010] elongated lamellae dominated by the pinacoid {001}. This pronounced anisotropic growth habit is compared with the usually considered rod-like pseudo-hexagonal occurring in pure aqueous solution growth. The habit change is interpreted by assuming that 2D islands of Ca-citrate-tetrahydrate can be adsorbed as epi- monolayers of thickness d₀₀₁ onto the different growth forms: {001}, {100},

{10 \bar{2}}

, {010}, and

{10 \bar{1}}

of HAp. A comparison is made among the corresponding coincidence lattices, in order to explain on reticular basis the selective adsorption of citrate on the {001} HAp form. The role exerted by the 2D-epitaxially adsorbed Ca-Cit-TH as a “mortar” in the monoclinic HAp “brick” assembly is outlined as well. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimetic Growth of Calcium Phosphate Crystals)

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14 pages, 2485 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Amorphous Calcium Phosphate Formation and Aggregation Process Revealed by Light Scattering Techniques

by Vida Čadež, Ina Erceg, Atiđa Selmani, Darija Domazet Jurašin, Suzana Šegota, Daniel M. Lyons, Damir Kralj and Maja Dutour Sikirić

Crystals 2018, 8(6), 254; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst8060254 - 17 Jun 2018

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 6339

Abstract

Amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) attracts attention as a precursor of crystalline calcium phosphates (CaPs) formation in vitro and in vivo as well as due to its excellent biological properties. Its formation can be considered to be an aggregation process. Although aggregation of ACP is of interest for both gaining a fundamental understanding of biominerals formation and in the synthesis of novel materials, it has still not been investigated in detail. In this work, the ACP aggregation was followed by two widely applied techniques suitable for following nanoparticles aggregation in general: dynamic light scattering (DLS) and laser diffraction (LD). In addition, the ACP formation was followed by potentiometric measurements and formed precipitates were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results showed that aggregation of ACP particles is a process which from the earliest stages simultaneously takes place at wide length scales, from nanometers to micrometers, leading to a highly polydisperse precipitation system, with polydispersity and vol. % of larger aggregates increasing with concentration. Obtained results provide insight into developing a way of regulating ACP and consequently CaP formation by controlling aggregation on the scale of interest. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimetic Growth of Calcium Phosphate Crystals)

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8 pages, 6879 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Calcium and Phosphate on Compositional Conversion from Dicalcium Hydrogen Phosphate Dihydrate Blocks to Octacalcium Phosphate Blocks

by Yuki Sugiura and Kunio Ishikawa

Crystals 2018, 8(5), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst8050222 - 17 May 2018

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4855

Abstract

Octacalcium phosphate (OCP) has attracted much attention as an artificial bone substitute because of its excellent osteoconductive and bone replacement properties. Although numerous studies have investigated OCP powder fabrication, there are only a few studies on OCP block fabrication. Therefore, in this study, the feasibility of optimizing dicalcium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) blocks, as a precursor for OCP block fabrication, under a pH 6 adjusted acetate buffer solution at 70 °C for 2 days was investigated. When a DCPD block was immersed in acetate buffer, the block was partially converted to OCP, with a large amount of dicalcium hydrogen phosphate anhydrate (DCPA), and its macroscopic structure was maintained. When the DCPD block was immersed in a Ca-containing solution, it was converted to mainly hydroxyapatite (HAp) with DCPA. On the other hand, when the DCPD block was immersed in a PO₄-containing solution, the block was converted to OCP, and its macroscopic structure was maintained. In other words, the PO₄-induced calcium phosphate with a Ca/P molar ratio lower than 1.0 may represent an intermediate phase during the compositional transformation from a DCPD block to an OCP block through the dissolution–precipitation reaction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimetic Growth of Calcium Phosphate Crystals)

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