Calcium hydroxyapatite water adsorbed

Precipitation can occur if a water is supersaturated with respect to a solid phase however, if the growth of a thermodynamically stable phase is slow, a metastable phase may form. Disordered, amorphous phases such as ferric hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, and allophane are thermodynamically unstable with respect to crystalline phases nonetheless, these disordered phases are frequently found in nature. The rates of crystallization of these phases are strongly controlled by the presence of adsorbed ions on the surfaces of precipitates (99). Zawacki et al. (Chapter 32) present evidence that adsorption of alkaline earth ions greatly influences the formation and growth of calcium phosphates. While hydroxyapatite was the thermodynamically stable phase under the conditions studied by these authors, it is shown that several different metastable phases may form, depending upon the degree of supersaturation and the initiating surface phase. 

Recently, Bartels and Arends113 studied the adsorption of poly(4-vinylpyridinium fluoride) with different hexadecyl group content on hydroxyapatite. Adsorbance decreased as the hexadecyl content, i.e. the charge density, was increased. Desorption experiments showed that the adsorption of this polyelectrolyte in water is essentially irreversible. However, the polymer partially desorbed when excess calcium ions were added. Bartels and Arends concluded that adsorption of poly(4-vinylpyridinum fluoride) occurs as a result of the uptake of fluoride ions by hydroxyapatite which releases phosphate ions into water. They also suggested that this adsorption phenomenon can be interpreted in terms of an ion-exchange mechanism. 

We wish to report some work on the adsorption of acid and alkali-precursor gelatins, the water-soluble products of collagen. The study of both types allowed us to determine whether the differences exhibited by the two kinds in solution are reflected in the adsorbed state, and offers some insight into the state of flexible molecules at interfaces. The use of two dissimilar adsorbents, glass and stainless steel powders, should yield information on segment-surface interactions during the adsorption process. Some effects of added calcium ions were also studied since the Ca-ions of hydroxyapatite in bone and teeth are intimately related to collagen. 

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