EDTA and NTA Effectively Tune the Mineralization of Calcium Phosphate from Bulk Aqueous Solution

This study describes the effects of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) and ethylenediaminotetraacetic acid (EDTA) on the mineralization of calcium phosphate from bulk aqueous solution. Mineralization was performed between pH 6 and 9 and with NTA or EDTA concentrations of 0, 5, 10, and 15 mM. X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy show that at low pH, mainly brushite precipitates and at higher pH, mostly hydroxyapatite forms. Both additives alter the morphology of the precipitates. Without additive, brushite precipitates as large plates. With NTA, the morphology changes to an unusual rod-like shape. With EDTA, the edges of the particles are rounded and disk-like particles form. Conductivity and pH measurements suggest that the final products form through several intermediate steps.

A Dendritic Amphiphile for Efficient Control of Biomimetic Calcium Phosphate Mineralization

The phase behavior of a dendritic amphiphile containing a Newkome-type dendron as the hydrophilic moiety and a cholesterol unit as the hydrophobic segment is investigated at the air-liquid interface. The amphiphile forms stable monomolecular films at the air-liquid interface on different subphases. Furthermore, the mineralization of calcium phosphate beneath the monolayer at different calcium and phosphate concentrations versus mineralization time shows that at low calcium and phosphate concentrations needles form, whereas flakes and spheres dominate at higher concentrations. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electron diffraction confirm the formation of calcium phosphate. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction confirm the predominant formation of octacalcium phosphate and hydroxyapatite. The data also indicate that the final products form via a complex multistep reaction, including an association step, where nano-needles aggregate into larger flake-like objects.

Interface-controlled calcium phosphate mineralization: effect of oligo(aspartic acid)-rich interfaces

The phase behavior of an amphiphilic block copolymer based on a poly(aspartic acid) hydrophilic block and a poly(n-butyl acrylate) hydrophobic block was investigated at the air–water and air–buffer interface.

Poly(ethylene oxide)-based block copolymers with very high molecular weights for biomimetic calcium phosphate mineralization

Ampholytic and betaine-type block copolymers are excellent growth modifiers for calcium phosphate in biologically inspired calcium phosphate mineralization.

"Active surfaces" formed by immobilization of enzymes on solid-supported polymer membranes

In various domains ranging from catalysis to medical and environmental sciences, there is currently much focus on the design of surfaces that present active compounds at the interface with their environments. Here, we describe the design of "active surfaces" based on solid-supported monolayers of asymmetric triblock copolymers, which serve as templates for the attachment of enzymes. A group of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(γ-methyl-ε-caprolactone)-block-poly[(2-dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate] amphiphilic copolymers, with different hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains (PEG45-b-PMCLx-b-PDMAEMAy) was selected to generate solid-supported polymer membranes. The behavior of the copolymers in terms of their molecular arrangements at the air-water interface was established by a combination of Langmuir isotherms and Brewster angle microscopy. Uniform thin layers of copolymers were obtained by transferring films onto silica solid supports at optimal surface pressure. These solid-supported polymer membranes were characterized by assessing various properties, such as monolayer thickness, hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance, topography, and roughness. Laccase, used as an enzyme model, was successfully attached to copolymer membranes by stable interactions as followed by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation measurements, and its activity was preserved, as indicated by activity assays. The interaction between the amphiphilic triblock copolymer films and immobilized enzymes represents a straightforward approach to engineer "active surfaces", with biomolecules playing the active role by their intrinsic bioactivity.

New developments in polymer-controlled, bioinspired calcium phosphate mineralization from aqueous solution

The polymer-controlled and bioinspired precipitation of inorganic minerals from aqueous solution at near-ambient or physiological conditions avoiding high temperatures or organic solvents is a key research area in materials science. Polymer-controlled mineralization has been studied as a model for biomineralization and for the synthesis of (bioinspired and biocompatible) hybrid materials for a virtually unlimited number of applications. Calcium phosphate mineralization is of particular interest for bone and dental repair. Numerous studies have therefore addressed the mineralization of calcium phosphate using a wide variety of low- and high-molecular-weight additives. In spite of the growing interest and increasing number of experimental and theoretical data, the mechanisms of polymer-controlled calcium phosphate mineralization are not entirely clear to date, although the field has made significant progress in the last years. A set of elegant experiments and calculations has shed light on some details of mineral formation, but it is currently not possible to preprogram a mineralization reaction to yield a desired product for a specific application. The current article therefore summarizes and discusses the influence of (macro)molecular entities such as polymers, peptides, proteins and gels on biomimetic calcium phosphate mineralization from aqueous solution. It focuses on strategies to tune the kinetics, morphologies, final dimensions and crystal phases of calcium phosphate, as well as on mechanistic considerations.

Spontaneously amplified homochiral organic-inorganic nano-helix complexes via self-proliferation

Most spiral coiled biomaterials in nature, such as gastropod shells, are homochiral, and the favoured chiral feature can be precisely inherited. This inspired us that selected material structures, including chirality, could be specifically replicated into the self-similar populations; however, a physicochemical understanding of the material-based heritage is unknown. We study the homochirality by using calcium phosphate mineralization in the presence of racemic amphiphilic molecules and biological protein. The organic-inorganic hybrid materials with spiral coiling characteristics are produced at the nanoscale. The resulted helixes are chiral with the left- and right-handed characteristics, which are agglomerated hierarchically to from clusters and networks. It is interesting that each cluster or network is homochiral so that the enantiomorphs can be separated readily. Actually, each homochiral architecture is evolved from an original chiral helix, demonstrating the heritage of the matrix chirality during the material proliferation under a racemic condition. By using the Ginzburg-Landaue expression we find that the chiral recognition in the organic-inorganic hybrid formation may be determined by a spontaneous chiral separation and immobilization of asymmetric amphiphilic molecules on the mineral surface, which transferred the structural information from the mother matrix to the descendants by an energetic control. This study shows how biomolecules guide the selective amplification of chiral materials via spontaneous self-replication. Such a strategy can be applied generally in the design and production of artificial materials with self-similar structure characteristics.

Biomimetic synthesis of calcium carbonate bilayers interfaced by a diblock copolymer template

The synthesis of a new class of hybrid materials with two differently oriented layers of calcite at adjacent sides of an organic template is demonstrated. A Langmuir monolayer of the amphiphilic block copolymer poly(butyl acrylate)-b-poly(hydroxypropyl acrylate) directs the formation of a first CaCO3 phase through interaction with the hydrophilic poly(hydroxypropyl acrylate) blocks. After partial hydrolysis of the hydrophobic poly(butyl acrylate) segments a second CaCO3 phase is formed on the monolayer associated to the first mineral phase. Thus, bilayered CaCO3-based hybrid materials are obtained with two differently oriented calcite phases at opposite sides of the polymer film. By using DNA as an additive the crystal orientation in the second layer can be modified.

Calcium phosphate mineralization beneath a polycationic monolayer at the air-water interface

The self-assembly of the amphiphilic block copolymer poly(n-butyl methacrylate)-block-poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] at the air-water interface has been investigated at different pH values. Similar to Rehfeldt et al. (J. Phys. Chem. B 2006, 110, 9171), the subphase pH strongly affects the monolayer properties. The formation of calcium phosphate beneath the monolayer can be tuned by the subphase pH and hence the monolayer charge. After 12 h of mineralization at pH 5, the polymer monolayers are still transparent, but transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows that very thin calcium phosphate fibers form, which aggregate into cotton ball-like features with diameters of 20 to 50 nm. In contrast, after 12 h of mineralization at pH 8, the polymer film is very slightly turbid and TEM shows dense aggregates with sizes between 200 and 700 nm. The formation of calcium phosphate is further confirmed by Raman and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The calcium phosphate architectures can be assigned to the monolayer charge, which is high at low pH and low at high pH. The study demonstrates that the effects of polycations should not be ignored if attempting to understand the colloid chemistry of biomimetic mineralization. It also shows that basic block copolymers are useful complementary systems to the much more commonly studied acidic block copolymer templates.

Calcium phosphate growth beneath a polycationic monolayer at the air-water interface: effects of oscillating surface pressure on mineralization

The self-assembly of the amphiphilic block copolymer poly(butadiene)-block-poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] at the air-water interface and the mineralization of the monolayers with calcium phosphate was investigated at different pH values. As expected for polyelectrolytes, the subphase pH strongly affects the monolayer properties. The focus of the current study, however, is on the effect of an oscillating (instead of a static) polymer monolayer on calcium phosphate mineralization. Monitoring of the surface pressure vs. mineralization time shows that the monolayer is quite stable if the mineralization is performed at pH 8. In contrast, the monolayer at pH 5 shows a measurable decrease of the surface pressure already after ca. 2 h of mineralization. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that mineralization at low pH under constant oscillation leads to small particles, which are arranged in circular features and larger entities with holes of ca. 200 nm. The larger features with the holes disappear as the mineralization is continued in favor of the smaller particles. These grow with time and form necklace-like architectures of spherical particles with a uniform diameter. In contrast, mineralization at pH 8 leads to very uniform particle morphologies already after 2 h. The mineralization products consist of a circular feature with a dark dot in the center. The increasing contrast of the precipitates in the electron micrographs with mineralization time indicates an increasing degree of mineralization vs. reaction time. The study therefore shows that mechanical effects on mineralization at interfaces are quite complex.