The effect of surface silanol groups on the deposition of apatite onto silica surfaces: a computer simulation study

Computer modelling techniques were employed to investigate the effect of surface silanol groups on the strength of adhesion of apatite thin films to silica surfaces. To this end, we have studied a series of silica surfaces with different silanol densities and calculated their interaction with apatite thin films. Our findings indicate that apatite does not attach strongly to surface hydroxy groups, but that apatite should deposit at dehydrated silica surfaces, especially when the surface silicon and oxygen species rearrange to form O-Si-O links. Any dangling silicon and oxygen bonds at the silica surfaces are saturated by coordination to oxygen and calcium atoms in the apatite layer, but the extra reactivity afforded by these under-coordinated surface species does not necessarily lead to more favourable substrate/film interactions. The lowest energy silica/apatite interfaces are those where an undistorted apatite layer can be deposited on a regular, stable substrate surface. Our simulations support the suggestion, that in vivo surface hydroxy groups are first condensed to form O-Si-O bridges before deposition and growth of apatite.

A computational investigation of stoichiometric and calcium-deficient oxy- and hydroxy-apatites

Computer modelling techniques have been employed to qualitatively and quantitatively investigate the dehydration of hydroxyapatite to oxyapatite and the defect chemistry of calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite, where a number of vacancy formation reactions are considered. The dehydration of hydroxyapatite into oxyhydroxyapatite is calculated to be endothermic by E = +83.2 kJ mol(-1) in agreement with experiment, where thermal treatment is necessary to drive this process. Calcium vacancies are preferentially charge-compensated by carbonate ions substituting for phosphate groups (E = -5.3 kJ mol(-1)), whereas charge-compensating reactions involving PO4 vacancies are highly endothermic (E > or =652 kJ mol(-1)). The exothermicity of the charge compensation of a Ca vacancy accompanied by a PO4/CO3 substitution agrees with their co-occurrence in natural bone tissue and tooth enamel. Our calculations of a range of defect structures predict (i) that calcium vacancies as well as substitutional sodium and potassium ions would occur together with carbonate impurities at phosphate sites, but that other charge compensations by replacement of the phosphate groups are unfavourable, and (ii) that the hydroxy ions in the channel are easily replaced by carbonate groups, but that the formation of water or oxygen defects in the channels is thermodynamically unfavourable. Calculated elastic constants are reported for the defect structures.