Lanthanides “Ln” (rare earths) are critical elements found in natural minerals such as calcium phosphate apatites, in sedimentary and igneous settings as well as in skeletal diagenesis. From a medical point of view, nanoparticles of lanthanide-doped apatites can be produced for conferring luminescence properties of interest in cancer cells detection. However, the impact of the substitution of L...

In the present work, a new methodology to produce bioactive coatings on the surface of starch-based biodegradable polymers or other polymeric biomaterials is proposed. A sodium silicate gel is employed as an alternative nucleating agent to the more typical bioactive glasses for inducing the formation of a calcium-phosphate (Ca-P) layer. The method has the advantage of being able to coat efficie...

Amelogenin proteins, the principal components of the developing dental enamel extracellular matrix, have been postulated to facilitate the elongated and oriented growth of the carbonated apatite crystals during enamel formation. We previously reported that amelogenin caused modulation of apatite crystals nucleated on a bioactive glass (Bioglass(R)) in vitro. Here, the effects of amelogenin on t...

Covalent coupling of sulfonic group (-SO 3H) was attempted on different polymers to evaluate efficacy of this functional group in inducing nucleation of apatite in body environment, and thereupon to design a simple biomimetic process for preparing bonelike apatite-polymer composites. Substrates of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycaprolactam (Nylon 6), high molecular weight polyethylene (H...

Calcium phosphate apatites are inorganic compounds encountered in many different mineralized tissues. Bone mineral, for example, is constituted of nanocrystalline nonstoichiometric apatite, and the production of "analogs" through a variety of methods is frequently reported. In another context, the ability of solid surfaces to favor the nucleation and growth of "bone-like" apatite upon immersion...

Chondritic meteorites, consisting of the materials that have formed in the early solar system (ESS), have been affected by late thermal events and fluid activity to various degrees. Determining the timing of fluid activity in ESS is of fundamental importance for understanding the nature, formation, evolution and significance of fluid activity in ESS. Previous investigations have determined the ...

Extracellular matrix proteins are considered to play essential roles in controlling the nucleation, growth, and organization of hydroxyapatite crystals during enamel formation. The effects of amelogenin and the 32-kDa enamelin proteins on apatite nucleation were investigated by a steady-state gel diffusion device containing 10% gelatin gels loaded with 0, 0.75%, and 1.5% (w/w) native porcine am...

The present study investigates the changes in microstructure and microchemistry (particularly Ca/P ratio) during whisker formation on the surface of TTCP powder in hydrochloric solution. XRD results indicate that the as-fabricated (non-treated) powder has a monolithic TTCP crystal structure. When the powder is treated for 10min in HCl, a DCPD phase appears on TTCP surface, which increases in in...

Ti–6Al–4V scaffolds were fabricated by powder metallurgical space holder technique in this research. The most added magnesium (Mg) powder was evaporated and a skeleton of Ti-6Al-4V alloy was produced. For this purpose Ti-6Al-4V and Mg powders mixture compacted in a steel die by applying uniaxial pressure of 500 MPa before sintering the green product in a sealed quartz tubes at 900 °C for 2 hour...