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Updated: Jul 27, 2026

Calcium Carbonate Formation in the Presence of Biopolymeric Additives
Published on: May 14, 2019
Influence of urinary sialic acid on calcium oxalate crystal formation
E Konya1, N Amasaki, T Umekawa
1Department of Urology, Kinki University School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan. urology@med.kindai.ac.jp
Abstract:
Using seed crystal method, whole-urine method, and scanning electron microscopy, the inhibitory effects of sialic acid and osteopontin (OPN) on aggregation/growth of CaOx crystals were investigated. Using the seed crystal method, sialic acid showed an inhibitory effect on CaOx crystal aggregation/growth in a concentration-dependent manner, but almost no effect was observed using the whole-urine method. OPN showed an inhibitory effect on aggregation/growth in both experimental systems. The inhibitory effect of asialo-OPN on aggregation/growth was approximately 20% lower than that of OPN in the experiment using the seed crystal method and approximately 15% lower in the experiment using the whole-urine method. Scanning electron microscopy showed that OPN and sialic acid inhibit the aggregation of CaOx crystals. The above findings show that sialic acid accounts for about 15-20% of the involvement of OPN in CaOx crystallization.
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