[Adsorption of amino acids onto hydroxyapatite]

The interaction of Hydroxyapatite (HAP) with organic molecules is of biological importance, since the former is considered as the prototype mineral found in calcified tissues, such as bone and teeth. Some proteins display a high affinity for HAP and they are involved in the mineralization of bone. Another important aspect in biological systems is the role that various molecules play as inhibitors of crystal growth. We investigated the interaction of HAP with amino acids and their derivatives by comparing HAP adsorption experiment with crystal growth experiment. It was reported aspartic acid or phosphoserine adsorbed onto HAP and that they inhibited the seeded crystal growth. In this work, histidine and imidazole derivatives also displayed the crystal growth inhibitory activity and its adsorption isotherm was described by a Langmuir-type model.