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Microscopy and Microanalysis Microscopy and Microanalysis

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New Insights into the Ultrastructure of Bioapatite After Partial Dissolution: Based on Whale Rostrum, the Densest Bone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2019

Lingyi Tang ,
Li Zhang ,
Michael Yue ,
Da Tian ,
Mu Su  and
Zhen Li Open the ORCID record for Zhen Li[Opens in a new window]
Lingyi Tang
Affiliation:
College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
Li Zhang
Affiliation:
College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
Michael Yue
Affiliation:
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
Da Tian
Affiliation:
College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
Mu Su
Affiliation:
College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
Zhen Li*
Affiliation:
College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210046, China
*
*Author for correspondence: Zhen Li, E-mail: lizhen@njau.edu.cn
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Abstract

Mineral particles in bone are interlaced with collagen fibrils, hindering the investigation of bioapatite crystallites (BAp). This study utilized a special whale rostrum (the most highly mineralized bone ever recorded) to measure the crystallites of bone BAp via long-term dissolution in water. The BAp in the rostrum has a low solubility (6.7 ppm Ca and 3.8 ppm P after 150 days dissolution) as well as in normal bones, which leads to its Ksp value of ~10−53. Atomic force microscopy results show tightly compacted mineral crystallites and confirm the low amount of collagen in the rostrum. Additionally, the mineral crystallites demonstrate irregular plate-like shapes with variable sizes. The small crystallites (~11 × 24 nm) are easily detached from BAp prisms, compared with the large crystallites (~50 nm). Moreover, various orientations of crystallites are observed on the edge of the prisms, which suggest a random direction of mineral growth. Furthermore, these plate-like crystallites prefer to be stacked layer by layer under weak regulation from collagen. The morphology of rostrum after dissolution provides new insights into the actual morphology of BAp crystallites.

Keywords

bioapatitedissolutionHRTEMmorphologyrostrum
Type
Biological Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 25 , Issue 6 , December 2019 , pp. 1323 - 1330
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2019 

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