X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPIC STUDY OF THE POSSIBLE INTERACTIONS OF BIOCELLS WITH THE SURFACES OF SELECT SILICATES

Silicate minerals are the dominant-materials in the Ear;h's crust, and thus literally define the term 'geochemistry', but, with the exceptio n of glass chemistry and some areas of catalysis, silicates have, in t he past, received scant attention in many areas of chemistry, physics and materials science. In fact, many chemists are largely uninformed a bout the broad diversity of silicate structures and bondings. Recent e xplorations by biochemists in the pathogenesis of certain diseases hav e, however, resulted in a new-found, much broader interest in silicate s. This paper extends our studies of the chemistry of mineral silicate s using primarily x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS or I ESCA). Fo llowing a short consideration of the sometimes contradictory arguments concerning the possible pathogenicity of these materials, we will out line our rapidly expanding unique studies of the interaction of certai n biocellular bodies with select silicate systems. The latter studies feature the first 'before, during and after' analyses of the silicates (as well as the cells), with the implementation of unique methods for cell-silicate separation and also the freeze drying and surface analy sis of the combined systems. In this manner we have been able to ident ify cell-induced modifications in the surface chemistry of the silicat e components, along with alterations in the cellular species. Many of these analyses were facilitated by the recent clarifications in bioorg anic ESCA.