Wj. Wu et al., HETEROGENEOUS NUCLEATION OF CALCIUM PHOSPHATES ON SOLID-SURFACES IN AQUEOUS-SOLUTION, Journal of biomedical materials research, 35(1), 1997, pp. 93-99
The heterogeneous nucleation of calcium phosphates on solid surfaces o
f poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-hexafl
uoropropylene) (FEP), silicone rubber, mica, and radiofrequency glow d
ischarge (RFGD)-treated PMMA, FEP, and silicone rubber has been studie
d in solutions supersaturated with respect to hydroxyapatite. The surf
ace properties of the substrates were characterized by contact angle m
easurements. For the RFGD-treated surfaces, the Lifshitz-Van der Waals
surface tension component changes very little, but the Lewis acid-bas
e surface tension parameters vary greatly depending upon the materials
. With scanning electron microscopy, nucleation of calcium phosphates
was observed only on the surfaces: mica, RFGD-treated PMMA and FEP, wi
th relatively high values of the Lewis base surface tension parameter.
The more hydrophobic surfaces having low Lewis acid-base surface tens
ions, untreated PMMA and FEP, silicone rubber, and even RFGD-treated s
ilicone rubber showed no nucleation. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.