AIM This review of the literature examines the role of the natural components of saliva in maintaining tooth mineralization and the role of different casein phosphopeptide amorphous calcium phosphate-based (CPP-ACP) compounds in controlling demineralization/remineralization and their clinical applications. BACKGROUND A group of peptides, known as CPP, have been shown to stabilize calcium and ...

Hydroxyapatite (HAP) participates in vertebral bone and tooth formation by a nonclassical hitherto unknown nucleation mechanism, in which amorphous precursors form and transform during long induction periods. Elucidation of the mechanism by which amorphous precursors assemble and transform is essential to understanding how hard tissues form in vivo and will advance the design and fabrication of...

Formation of hydroxylapatite through the precipitation and evolution of calcium phosphate precursor phases under varying conditions of temperature (25–90 °C), pH (6.5–9.0), and calcium to phosphorus ratio (1.0, 1.33, 1.5, and 1.67) comparable to those found in many sediments and soils were studied. The products of low-temperature precipitation were analyzed by ex situ X-ray diffraction and SEM,...

Carbonated hydroxyapatite is the mineral found in vertebrate bones and teeth, whereas invertebrates utilize calcium carbonate in their mineralized organs. In particular, stable amorphous calcium carbonate is found in many crustaceans. Here we report on an unusual, crystalline enamel-like apatite layer found in the mandibles of the arthropod Cherax quadricarinatus (freshwater crayfish). Despite ...

Dissolution of gallstones consisting of cholesterol, calcium carbonate, or calcium phosphate in different solvents left an amorphous organic gel-like substance (the matrix). Matrix from cholesterol stones could be colourless but was usually orange, yellow, or brown while that from calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate stones was almost invariably coloured black or dark brown. These pigments w...

Evidence is provided from studies on natural and artificial biofluids that the sequestration of amorphous calcium phosphate by peptides or proteins to form nanocluster complexes is of general importance in the control of physiological calcification. A naturally occurring mixture of osteopontin peptides was shown, by light and neutron scattering, to form calcium phosphate nanoclusters with a cor...

Phosphorus recovery from wastewater by precipitation as calcium phosphate could reduce the depletion of scarce phosphate rock resources and the need for mining. This study will introduce simultaneous phosphorus recovery by precipitation of calcium phosphate granules in the anaerobic treatment of black water. The reduction of humic acids in tap water had a minor effect on the free calcium concen...