Journal Article
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 112, iss. 2, pp. 326-331, 2014
Authors
Jinhui Tao, Keith C. Battle, Haihua Pan, E. Alan Salter, Yung-Ching Chien, Andrzej Wierzbicki, James J. De Yoreo
Abstract
Significance
The remarkable mechanical properties of bone are determined by the organization and strength of binding at the mineral–collagen interface. Although the process through which collagen becomes mineralized has been extensively studied, little is known about the mechanisms or energetics that underlie the organization of this mineral–matrix composite. Combining molecular-scale imaging and analyses of collagen adsorption on four bone-related calcium phosphate phases, single-molecule force measurements and molecular simulations of collagen binding to hydroxyapatite, and electron microscopy analyses of bone and dentine, we determine the magnitude and chemistry of collagen–hydroxyapatite binding and show that calcium-deficient apatite is the only phase consistent with observed structural relationships.
