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Updated: Jun 24, 2025
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Analysis of Minerals Produced by hFOB 1.19 and Saos-2 Cells Using Transmission Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Microanalysis
Published on: June 24, 2018
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Curved mineral platelets in bone.
H P Schwarcz1, Nadine Nassif2, Viktoria Kovacs Kis3
1School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Acta Biomaterialia
|June 5, 2024
Summary
Bone
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Structural Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Bone is a composite material primarily consisting of collagen fibrils and mineral apatite.
- The mineral component of bone is known to exist as flat polycrystalline platelets approximately 5 nm thick.
- These mineral platelets are organized into stacks, but their precise arrangement and contribution to bone's mechanical properties remain areas of investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the three-dimensional structure of mineral platelets in bone.
- To elucidate the relationship between mineral platelet morphology and collagen fibrils.
- To understand how the observed mineral structures contribute to bone's mechanical strength.
Main Methods:
- Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) was utilized to examine bone microstructure.
- Analysis focused on the orientation and curvature of mineral platelets relative to collagen fibrils.
Main Results:
- Bone's mineral apatite platelets are not flat but are curved sheets with radii of curvature ranging from 25 to hundreds of nanometers.
- These curved platelets form stacks of 2 to over 30 and are oriented parallel to collagen fibril axes.
- The curvature of mineral platelets allows them to weave around collagen fibrils, enhancing bone's compressive strength.
Conclusions:
- The mineral component of bone is organized into curved platelets, not flat ones as previously assumed.
- This novel curved morphology of mineral platelets is crucial for bone's structural integrity and mechanical resilience.
- Understanding these nanoscale structural features provides new insights into bone biomechanics.
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