Seeded Crystal Growth onto Enamel Mineral and Synthetic Hydroxyapatite in Dilute Supersaturated Solutions Containing Low Concentrations of Fluoride

불소농도가 Seeded Enamel Mineral과 합성 Hyproxyapatite에 Crystal 성장에 미치는 영향

The present study was undertaken to investigate the crystal growth onto enamel mineral and synthetic hydroxyapatite seeds in media resembling the enamel fluid composition. Effects of fluoride at low concentrations on the precipitation were also examined in a benchtop crystal growth model adopting a miniaturized reaction column. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), as well as chemical analyses, were employed for characterization of both seed materials before and after experimentation. Remarkable findings were that (1) both biological and synthetic seeds at the same total surface areas yielded rather similar precipitation rates at all levels of fluoride concentration in solution and (2) the precipitation rate was accelerated in a manner depending on fluoride concentrations in media. FTIR differential analysis disclosed that the precipitating phase was characterized as poorly crystallized apatite, which incorporated subtle carbonate. Most of the fluoride ions in soution were readily incorporated into crystals. The overall results support the view that the seeded crystal growth model is of value to gain insight into the mechanism of enamel crystal growth under fluoride regimens.