Chemistry and Materials Science Directorate 2002 Postdoctoral Symposium
The understanding of the physical mechanisms by which important biological inhibitors control the nucleation, growth, aggregation, and phase transformation of calcium oxalate crystals at fundamental level is of importance not only to the advances in biomineralization but also to the development of stone disease therapy. Of the three phases of calcium oxalate crystalline, calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) and dehydrate (COD) are found in the majority of stones formed in the urinary system. Only COM, a major inorganic component of kidney stones, produces adverse physiological effects to human, however. Although a great deal of research has been carried out on the modulation of nucleation, growth, aggregation, and phase transformation of calcium oxalates by biological molecules, the basic mechanism has not yet been determined due to inherent limitations of those techniques that have been utilized The invention of atomic force microscopy (AFM) has opened a new avenue for the study of the crystal growth in general. One can now probe the growth kinetics and dynamics, and morphology of crystal surfaces down to molecular levels as a typical AFM has a lateral resolution of nanometers. In this study, in situ AFM was used to monitor the COM surface under controlled growth conditions. The growth on both (-101) and (010) faces was investigated. The effect of the macromolecules such as citrate and uropontin to the growth of surfaces was also explored. In this presentation, the structural basis for the observed results will be discussed and the implications of the findings to the field of medicine will also be addressed.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 15013464
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-ID-149661-ABSTS; TRN: US200601%%460
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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